:00:20. > :00:25.Hello and a warm welcome to the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. A
:00:26. > :00:29.lot has happened in the last weeks since we last met for this
:00:30. > :00:33.programme. The Labour conference in Liverpool, the Scottish Government
:00:34. > :00:36.suffering a defeat over health policy at Holyrood and I've had a
:00:37. > :00:42.haircut. Rank them in order of importance. Time to cross to the
:00:43. > :00:51.chamber. Could be anything and everything to the First Minister,
:00:52. > :00:53.including that health policy. To ask the First Minister what engagements
:00:54. > :00:58.she has planned for the rest of the day. Take forward the programme for
:00:59. > :01:02.Scotland including discussions with the Cabinet Secretary on the economy
:01:03. > :01:14.and follow up on the welcome resumption of the economy and
:01:15. > :01:18.conclusion of the DL steel plant. Is she in favour of shale gas being
:01:19. > :01:23.used in Scotland? Ruth Davidson is well aware of the position of the
:01:24. > :01:27.Scottish Government. We are taking a cautious, evidence -based approach
:01:28. > :01:33.to the issue of shale gas and fracking. I think that's the right
:01:34. > :01:37.approach. Given the range of environmental, health, transport and
:01:38. > :01:40.community impact concerns that have been raised, we have a number of
:01:41. > :01:45.research exercises under way right now that will report over the next
:01:46. > :01:49.few weeks. They will be followed by a full public consultation. When
:01:50. > :01:53.that has ended the Scottish Government will come to a considered
:01:54. > :01:57.judgment. Given the seriousness of this issue, I think that's the right
:01:58. > :02:01.and proper way to proceed. Interesting, because the Gammell
:02:02. > :02:06.report was due out in the summer and Saturday will be October. Let's set
:02:07. > :02:09.out this government's a principled stance on shale gas. For the last
:02:10. > :02:13.year, when it comes to shale gas in this country, they have a laptop
:02:14. > :02:17.that high horse, preached of a moratorium and boasted they are the
:02:18. > :02:21.planet's best friend. But when the gas is poured into a tanker and
:02:22. > :02:31.shipped all the way across the Atlantic to our shores, they turn a
:02:32. > :02:33.blind eye and hope if they ignore it, everyone else will too. Not
:02:34. > :02:36.surprisingly, the First Minister and cabinet have refused every media
:02:37. > :02:41.opportunity to talk about the issue this week. I will give her the
:02:42. > :02:47.chance. Can she explain the SNP's totalled double standards on this
:02:48. > :02:52.matter? The decision about the import of shale gas to Grangemouth
:02:53. > :02:56.is the decision taken by a company free to take those decisions. It's
:02:57. > :03:02.an extremely important company in the Scottish economy. In terms of
:03:03. > :03:06.the issue of fracking in Scotland, I appreciate the position of the
:03:07. > :03:09.Scottish Conservatives is to ride roughshod over local opinion, over
:03:10. > :03:17.environmental concerns and the range of other concerns that have been
:03:18. > :03:21.raised. That is a position Ruth Davidson is perfectly entitled to
:03:22. > :03:25.argue. I think it's better to take the evidence -based precautionary
:03:26. > :03:29.approach that this government is taking. Because we shouldn't play
:03:30. > :03:34.fast and loose with our environment. We will continue to undertake the
:03:35. > :03:40.work we have set out. The detail of that work is well-known. When those
:03:41. > :03:43.research projects report we will embark on a full public
:03:44. > :03:47.consultation. Anybody with any opinion or interest in this issue,
:03:48. > :03:51.including the Scottish Conservatives, will be able to
:03:52. > :03:55.contribute to that conversation. I think when we take account of all
:03:56. > :03:58.the issues involved here, that is absolutely the right and responsible
:03:59. > :04:04.way to proceed and it's what the Scottish Government will continue to
:04:05. > :04:09.do. The First Minister has already ignored her own experts on this. If
:04:10. > :04:13.you go to the government's on website from 2014, the result of the
:04:14. > :04:18.expert advice is there for everyone to see. Let me try another question.
:04:19. > :04:22.It's quite possible that shale gas in the rest of the UK will get the
:04:23. > :04:27.go-ahead soon if local communities back it. If it does, providers say
:04:28. > :04:30.much of the gas will go to Grangemouth and end up in the
:04:31. > :04:35.national grid power in Scottish homes. We could end up with a hand
:04:36. > :04:39.on Scottish gas but with Scottish homes reliant on English gas to keep
:04:40. > :04:44.the pipes one. Is the First Minister entirely comfortable with that? I
:04:45. > :04:51.know the Scottish Conservatives are a party controlled by London, but in
:04:52. > :04:55.the era of devolution, I think it's right we take decisions about
:04:56. > :04:58.fracking in Scotland here in Scotland and in our national
:04:59. > :05:02.parliament, and that's what we will continue to do. Given the concerns
:05:03. > :05:06.that have been raised both domestically here in Scotland and
:05:07. > :05:11.other parts of the UK and in other countries, we continue to take that
:05:12. > :05:14.evidence -based approach. I will leave Ruth Davidson to explain to
:05:15. > :05:17.communities across the central belt in Scotland why her party would
:05:18. > :05:22.choose to ride roughshod over concerns that have been raised. It
:05:23. > :05:25.terms of energy, of course it's an important decision and one that will
:05:26. > :05:28.be considered carefully by the Scottish Government, but I thought
:05:29. > :05:33.Ruth Davidson would like to take the opportunity to talk positively about
:05:34. > :05:37.the record levels of renewable energy generation are seeing in
:05:38. > :05:40.Scotland. Some of the world leading projects in tidal energy and
:05:41. > :05:44.offshore wind that are being taken forward in Scotland. But the Tory
:05:45. > :05:49.government in Westminster right now is more interested in undermining
:05:50. > :05:53.renewable energy than supporting it. We will continue to take decisions
:05:54. > :05:57.that are right for Scotland and right for the future energy needs. I
:05:58. > :06:03.will leave Ruth Davidson to explain her position to communities across
:06:04. > :06:06.Scotland. The First Minister might want to pick her own questions but
:06:07. > :06:09.she still has no answers to the one she's being asked. I'm not
:06:10. > :06:13.surprised. This First Minister doesn't want to admit her
:06:14. > :06:21.government's failure on energy will leave us reliant on others to keep
:06:22. > :06:25.our homes heated. There are 10,000 jobs in Central Scotland that are
:06:26. > :06:29.reliant on shale gas coming here from other countries. But we still
:06:30. > :06:34.have no answers on shale gas at home. I fully accept, fully accept,
:06:35. > :06:38.that there are differing views on this. But nobody is well served by a
:06:39. > :06:42.government that hides from view and kicks this into the long grass. The
:06:43. > :06:47.moratorium was announced nearly two years ago. Her government has been
:06:48. > :06:52.overtaken by events because the first tanker arrived this week. Will
:06:53. > :06:59.the First Minister give the country some proper answers, and when are
:07:00. > :07:03.they coming from her? We have set out the timescale for the reviews,
:07:04. > :07:08.and the moratorium is in place while those reviews are underway. The
:07:09. > :07:12.process and the timescale was described by Friends of the Earth as
:07:13. > :07:17.a well-designed process over a sensible timescale. I would agree
:07:18. > :07:19.with that. I have to say, being lectured on energy by a
:07:20. > :07:24.representative of the party that is pouring public money into the white
:07:25. > :07:33.elephant that is Hinkley Point, really is a bit rich. APPLAUSE
:07:34. > :07:38.And I do say again, Ruth Davidson has managed to ask a series of
:07:39. > :07:42.questions about energy today, and has somehow managed to forget to
:07:43. > :07:47.mention the statistics out today that showed 2016 is on track to be a
:07:48. > :07:51.record year for renewable generation in Scotland. That is a real success
:07:52. > :07:54.story, and I think we've just heard that the Scottish Conservatives
:07:55. > :07:59.don't like talking about success stories in Scotland.
:08:00. > :08:10.Kezia Dugdale. When will the First Minister next meet the National
:08:11. > :08:14.Autistic Society of Scotland? Let me pay tribute to the valuable work
:08:15. > :08:17.they do to support people with autism in our local communities.
:08:18. > :08:22.This month the Minister for childcare and early years made a
:08:23. > :08:26.speech at the 11th autism congress in Edinburgh and will soon meet with
:08:27. > :08:29.the director of the National Autistic Society of Scotland. That
:08:30. > :08:33.is hugely welcome, thank you. On the steps of Bute House the day after
:08:34. > :08:48.the May elections the First Minister said, we will always respect the
:08:49. > :08:51.people, now and in the future. We simply ask that other parties do
:08:52. > :08:53.likewise. Last night this Parliament, the representatives of
:08:54. > :08:56.the people of Scotland, spoke with one voice on the planned cuts to
:08:57. > :08:59.local NHS services. Will be First Minister now respect the will of
:09:00. > :09:03.this Parliament? Kezia Dugdale raises an important issue. It's
:09:04. > :09:06.important to firstly emphasise that no decisions have been taken on any
:09:07. > :09:10.of these proposed service changes. It's also important to stress, as
:09:11. > :09:15.the Health Secretary did yesterday, that there is a well-established and
:09:16. > :09:19.long-standing process in place to consider proposals for service
:09:20. > :09:23.change. The early stages of that process, which Greater Glasgow and
:09:24. > :09:27.Clyde health board are currently engaged in, inform the judgment
:09:28. > :09:31.about whether or not a particular service change is to be considered
:09:32. > :09:35.major, and therefore ultimately decided by ministers. When the long
:09:36. > :09:39.established process has reached the stage where that judgment can be
:09:40. > :09:43.made, the Health Secretary will report it to parliament, and in
:09:44. > :09:46.reaching that judgment, of course she will take account of the debate
:09:47. > :09:53.and decision of the Scottish Parliament yesterday. We recognise
:09:54. > :09:58.there is a due process, that is why we are angry that the SNP
:09:59. > :10:05.candidates, during the election, promised people bees services were
:10:06. > :10:09.safe, when they were not. -- these services. As Parliament we agreed
:10:10. > :10:13.that the Health Secretary should call in proposed cuts by councils in
:10:14. > :10:17.Lanarkshire and the Lothians, and that's because these services are
:10:18. > :10:24.vital to communities across the country and they are now at risk.
:10:25. > :10:30.Maternity services, cleft palate services in the Lothians, and many
:10:31. > :10:33.more. Now that the parliament has spoken, will she immediately call
:10:34. > :10:40.these decisions in and reject the planned cuts? This is another
:10:41. > :10:45.example of the complete incoherence at the heart of Scottish Labour.
:10:46. > :10:50.Kezia Dugdale says she recognises there is a due process. It's a five
:10:51. > :10:54.stage process, it is here, anybody can read it on the website of the
:10:55. > :10:58.Scottish health Council. At a certain stage of that process, the
:10:59. > :11:02.decision on whether or not a service change is a major one is taken. When
:11:03. > :11:08.we reach that point the Health Secretary will make that decision,
:11:09. > :11:14.take account the views of the Scottish health Council and this
:11:15. > :11:19.Parliament. We have the Labour Party standing up in this chamber accusing
:11:20. > :11:23.this government of undermining local decision-making. Today we have them
:11:24. > :11:35.standing up and demanding that we undermine local decision-making.
:11:36. > :11:39.It's an absolute shambles. APPLAUSE We will continue to follow due
:11:40. > :11:45.process. The last point I would make is this one, we will take no lessons
:11:46. > :11:50.from Labour when it comes to standing up for local health
:11:51. > :11:54.services, because, unlike Labour, we have demonstrated as a government
:11:55. > :11:59.time and again, our willingness to actually block changes when they are
:12:00. > :12:03.not in the interests of patients. When Labour were in government, they
:12:04. > :12:08.sat to one side and allowed services, like the Vale of Lieven
:12:09. > :12:13.accident and emergency services to close. Labour allowed services to
:12:14. > :12:18.close, this government protects local services. If the First
:12:19. > :12:24.Minister did it then, she could do it now. And there is a democratic
:12:25. > :12:31.process. It's at work here, and it's called the will of this Parliament.
:12:32. > :12:35.In March, Shona Robinson told this Parliament that services at the
:12:36. > :12:40.Royal Alexandra, the Vale of Lieven and the Lightburn would be
:12:41. > :12:44.maintained, but each face major cuts. George Adams said that we were
:12:45. > :12:49.scaremongering when we said services in Paisley were at risk, yet cuts
:12:50. > :12:53.are on their way. Before the election the SNP told people their
:12:54. > :13:01.local services were safe. Even the First Minister did it on the front
:13:02. > :13:04.of the Greenock Telegraph. This Parliament has now said that
:13:05. > :13:09.promises made before the election must be delivered on. If the vote of
:13:10. > :13:12.this Parliament, elected by the people of Scotland, doesn't make the
:13:13. > :13:20.First Minister keep her promises, just what will? Unless Labour is
:13:21. > :13:24.taking the position, and I assume Labour is not taking the position,
:13:25. > :13:29.that local health services never, ever change, no matter the change in
:13:30. > :13:33.demand or demographics, then surely she must accept that there is a
:13:34. > :13:38.process that we go through to consider and reach judgments on
:13:39. > :13:43.those changes. That process is long established, it has been in place
:13:44. > :13:46.for years. It is here, and when we get to the particular stage in the
:13:47. > :13:50.process that the Health Secretary has to decide whether it is major
:13:51. > :13:55.service change, that's what she will do. I say again, every week we have
:13:56. > :13:58.the Labour Party accusing this government of overriding local
:13:59. > :14:03.decision-making. Today what they want us to do is override local
:14:04. > :14:06.decision-making. We will do the right thing, and it's because of
:14:07. > :14:10.this government, and let's never forget this, it's because of this
:14:11. > :14:22.SNP government, that we still have an accident emergency in Monklands,
:14:23. > :14:26.and in Ayr. They learned Lieven emergency services are only there
:14:27. > :14:30.because this government stopped the trend Labour started to remove them
:14:31. > :14:32.completely. We stand up for local services, Labour used the stand
:14:33. > :14:46.aside while they were closed. I'm sure the first Minister will
:14:47. > :14:51.share my concern at the News of potential job losses at AG Barr
:14:52. > :14:56.including the number of sites in Angus as well as in Cumbernauld.
:14:57. > :14:59.Although consultation on redundancies is still at an early
:15:00. > :15:03.stage, can I ask the first Minister Watson for the Scottish government
:15:04. > :15:07.will give to assist the business and the staff affected at this
:15:08. > :15:11.challenging time? Of course I was disappointed to learn of potential
:15:12. > :15:16.job losses and this will obviously be an anxious time for the company
:15:17. > :15:19.of employees, families and local communities in fourth in
:15:20. > :15:22.Cumbernauld. Scottish enterprise is working closely with the company to
:15:23. > :15:27.understand any potential impacts on the two Scottish sites to establish
:15:28. > :15:32.how and where they can support the sites and the workforce. And the
:15:33. > :15:42.unfortunate and hopefully avoidable event that redundancies proceed, the
:15:43. > :15:44.Scottish government stands to help those and we will be happy to engage
:15:45. > :15:55.with local members of Parliament. First Minister, you'll be aware that
:15:56. > :16:03.Highlands and Islands development board provides a valuable role,
:16:04. > :16:06.economic and community benefits, you'll be with press speculation
:16:07. > :16:12.regarding its future, can you give an assurance that these functions
:16:13. > :16:17.will continually be discharged in the Highlands and Islands. I think
:16:18. > :16:21.they do a fantastic job and has done over the last 50 years and I can
:16:22. > :16:24.give the assurance to the member that we will make sure it is in a
:16:25. > :16:27.position to continue to carry out these functions are provided
:16:28. > :16:32.excellent service as it does to the Highlands of Scotland. The first
:16:33. > :16:38.Minister and be aware that an agreement was reached this week
:16:39. > :16:42.violent the council and historical council which allows my constituency
:16:43. > :16:46.to be reopened, as a key component of the world Heritage site, the
:16:47. > :16:49.closure would have had disastrous effect on the local tourism industry
:16:50. > :16:53.before she accept that a planned shuttle bus service can only be a
:16:54. > :16:57.temporary solution and Wilshere garage historical environment
:16:58. > :17:03.Scotland to act on the planning permission that it already has for a
:17:04. > :17:05.visitor centre, car park and pedestrian underpass of that is
:17:06. > :17:10.needed in world-class attractions are served by world-class
:17:11. > :17:16.facilities. Yes, I'm very happy to encourage those discussions to
:17:17. > :17:20.continue. Obviously health and safety for visitors and staff is of
:17:21. > :17:23.the utmost importance and overcome the collaboration between historic
:17:24. > :17:27.environment Scotland and Orkney Islands Council on this project.
:17:28. > :17:29.They have worked hard to develop an interim solution for they continue
:17:30. > :17:36.to work towards a sustainable long-term solution to enhance and
:17:37. > :17:38.enrich the tourism offer in Orkney and I know Liam McArthur will
:17:39. > :17:42.continue to be very closely engaged in this and I'd be happy to show
:17:43. > :17:47.that the relevant Minister corresponds with him as the
:17:48. > :17:51.situation develops but one thing is sure, it is one of the world-class
:17:52. > :17:53.attractions in Orkney and we want to do everything possible to ensure
:17:54. > :18:06.that it continues to be so. Patrick Harvie. When the Cabinet will next
:18:07. > :18:08.meet? Choose day. One of the first debates for Parliament had when we
:18:09. > :18:12.return from the summer break was about refugees and the first
:18:13. > :18:16.Minister and her colleagues backed a green amendment calling for the
:18:17. > :18:20.evolution of the services around accommodation and support that
:18:21. > :18:25.asylum seekers in our communities need. Since then the more
:18:26. > :18:29.significant change that we've seen is an announcement by press release
:18:30. > :18:33.from circle that they'll be taking over the provision of accommodation
:18:34. > :18:39.services and shipment. What involvement of the Scottish
:18:40. > :18:41.government have for awareness awareness communication little
:18:42. > :18:45.private sector providers with the UK government in advance of that
:18:46. > :18:49.decision. Has the Scottish government been able to exercise any
:18:50. > :18:54.influence at all in this decision and how has the first minister
:18:55. > :18:59.reacted? Firstly we are and have said before we are deeply concerned
:19:00. > :19:02.about the continued allegations about standards of asylum
:19:03. > :19:07.accommodation and allegations of mistreatment of asylum seekers. As
:19:08. > :19:11.Patrick Harvie knows and has indicated in his question, the issue
:19:12. > :19:15.of asylum seeker accommodation is reserved matter, these are not ever
:19:16. > :19:18.decisions, we frequently make our views on these matters known to the
:19:19. > :19:22.UK government that they are decisions of the UK government. I
:19:23. > :19:25.would very much like to see these decisions devolved to this
:19:26. > :19:28.Parliament. The communities secretary is due to meet with UK
:19:29. > :19:32.Minister for immigration early next month, I think in the next two weeks
:19:33. > :19:36.and will raise these issues with him when he does so. I understand the
:19:37. > :19:40.community secretary is speaking with the Scottish refugee Council and I'm
:19:41. > :19:44.sure these issues will be raised there as well. These are issues of
:19:45. > :19:46.utmost aborted because the call to the very heart of how we treat the
:19:47. > :19:51.most vulnerable people in our society and at I can give the
:19:52. > :19:57.chamber and assurance that we will press the case for dignity but we
:19:58. > :20:00.treat asylum seekers. I welcome that response and are once again
:20:01. > :20:05.encourage the Scottish government to be proactive in putting together a
:20:06. > :20:09.public sector bid to take on the provision of these services. We know
:20:10. > :20:13.that the Scottish public sector and Scottish non-governmental
:20:14. > :20:16.organisations can provide these services to a higher standard of
:20:17. > :20:20.dignity that is being done at present. But as well as that the UK
:20:21. > :20:24.government is putting pressure on Scottish local authorities to expand
:20:25. > :20:28.the asylum dispersal programme and that may well be a legitimate goal
:20:29. > :20:31.but it has to be done in a decent weight and a way that involves
:20:32. > :20:35.negotiation and respect with communities and local authorities.
:20:36. > :20:40.If that happens the Scottish government does have a role because
:20:41. > :20:44.designation order to achieve that UK objective would require Scottish
:20:45. > :20:48.ministers's consent. Can I ask the first Minister to ensure that
:20:49. > :20:54.patches on the issue that the Scottish government has is used to
:20:55. > :21:00.the maximum to advocate not only for an asylum dispersal programme that
:21:01. > :21:03.means the needs of people on the basis of respecting their humanity
:21:04. > :21:07.but also ensures local authorities are provided with resources are
:21:08. > :21:14.provided to a service to provide a high standard and these are brought
:21:15. > :21:20.back into this public sector as a matter of urgency. Our position and
:21:21. > :21:23.principle that we believe asylum accommodation should be provided in
:21:24. > :21:28.the public sector and I'm certainly happy with Angela to give
:21:29. > :21:32.consideration to Patrick Harvie's suggestion for a public sector bid
:21:33. > :21:38.if it is feasible and I'm happy to engage further with him on that. On
:21:39. > :21:41.a question on asylum seeker dispersal, yet we will use any and
:21:42. > :21:43.whatever influence we have two the maximum to try to make sure that the
:21:44. > :21:49.arrangements for looking after asylum seekers are humane and
:21:50. > :21:53.dignified, as we would want them all to be. We have an suitable
:21:54. > :21:58.experience in that respect in terms of the programme unwelcoming Syrian
:21:59. > :22:04.refugees to Scotland, many of them went to various other than Glasgow
:22:05. > :22:07.around Scotland and there was good engagement through of attacks force
:22:08. > :22:10.with local authorities and other agencies to make sure all the
:22:11. > :22:16.support arrangements were in place, so I think we have some very useful
:22:17. > :22:20.experience to bring to bear. I'm having to ask Angela Constance to
:22:21. > :22:23.engage with Patrick Harvie about the detail with these issues but I will
:22:24. > :22:27.give an assurance that we will always seek to act on this issue in
:22:28. > :22:35.a way that prioritises the humanity and dignity of support we give
:22:36. > :22:38.asylum seekers here in Scotland. The number of supplementary. Clear
:22:39. > :22:42.victor. The first Minister will be aware of the deported crimes to six
:22:43. > :22:46.that were published this week in violation and welcome drop in
:22:47. > :22:49.overall crime is a worrying increase in sexual crimes, partly due to an
:22:50. > :22:53.increased number of victims prepare to come forward but there are
:22:54. > :22:55.growing concerns that we are seeing more and more sexual crimes
:22:56. > :22:59.involving young people, particularly online such as the sharing of images
:23:00. > :23:05.and videos. Can I ask the first minister to consider the call for
:23:06. > :23:08.more support for its sexual violence prevention projects of its able to
:23:09. > :23:14.reach every secondary school in the country. Yes, we will consider that,
:23:15. > :23:17.we work closely with rape crisis Scotland and clear victor is
:23:18. > :23:22.absolutely right to say that we should not in any way be complicit
:23:23. > :23:26.in the trend in sexual offences as particularly in these days of social
:23:27. > :23:31.media and online activity there is a real need to ensure education and
:23:32. > :23:33.awareness is prioritised. I'm absolutely sure clear victor would
:23:34. > :23:38.recognise the point I'm about to make, there is a sense and a
:23:39. > :23:42.suspicion that in years gone by sexual offences have been
:23:43. > :23:47.underreported and therefore a lot of what has gone into trying to
:23:48. > :23:50.encourage and support people to come forward to report sexual offences
:23:51. > :23:56.and indeed clear victor mentioned rape crisis Scotland. Earlier this
:23:57. > :23:58.week when this statistics were published, the National coordinator
:23:59. > :24:03.set herself that it's important that people have confidence in reporting
:24:04. > :24:07.sexual crime. Changes by the police have transformed her sexual crime is
:24:08. > :24:10.investigated and it's likely that at least some of this increase in
:24:11. > :24:13.recorded sexual crime is due to people having more confidence to
:24:14. > :24:17.report what has happened to them, so we should welcome that and continue
:24:18. > :24:20.to get people the confidence but clear victor is absolutely right
:24:21. > :24:24.will stop we should not take our eye off the ball of some of the
:24:25. > :24:31.underlying trends and I'll certainly make sure that her specific
:24:32. > :24:35.suggestion this followed up. First Minister, this morning there are
:24:36. > :24:39.reports that the UK government has spent ?65 million establishing
:24:40. > :24:44.Brexit departments. But they seem still to have no plan in place, is
:24:45. > :24:47.the first Minister agree that it's time that the Prime Minister sets
:24:48. > :24:55.out exactly what Brexit means? APPLAUSE
:24:56. > :24:59.Yes, I do. We are now more than three months on since the referendum
:25:00. > :25:04.and we have no greater clarity today than we did on the 23rd of June
:25:05. > :25:08.about exactly what Brexit means. I think the UK government, the finest
:25:09. > :25:12.in particular has to start to set out the detail of that very soon and
:25:13. > :25:16.indeed I'm not the only one making comments like that. I notice two
:25:17. > :25:20.Conservative MPs making similar comments today, Ken Clarke and Nicky
:25:21. > :25:23.Morgan, the former education secretary making the point that if
:25:24. > :25:26.the UK government doesn't suck to define what Brexit means, then other
:25:27. > :25:30.people are going to start to do that for them. I think we need to see the
:25:31. > :25:34.UK government get a grip here. I want to see the UK figure
:25:35. > :25:38.negotiating position that keeps us in the single market. I know that's
:25:39. > :25:41.a position that Ruth Davidson used to support,- think she does any
:25:42. > :25:46.more, she's become a bit of a born-again Brexit year is
:25:47. > :25:49.nevertheless I hope that common sense prevails but we need to start
:25:50. > :25:58.seeing the detail and start to see it soon. To last the first Minister
:25:59. > :26:02.in light of the ?5 million GMC investigation into the conduct of
:26:03. > :26:06.its consultants at Aberdeen Royal infirmary, clearing all eight of
:26:07. > :26:09.wrong doing, what actions of the first Minister take to reform
:26:10. > :26:16.management practices and NHS Grampian. This was an investigation
:26:17. > :26:21.by the General medical Council, concerns were raised, they have been
:26:22. > :26:25.investigated in the normal way and a conclusion has been reached. It is
:26:26. > :26:30.for the local health board and Grampian to take any and to learn
:26:31. > :26:34.any lessons and the Health Secretary will ensure that happens and will be
:26:35. > :26:42.very happy to correspond further with a member of the has any further
:26:43. > :26:45.questions on the issue. File the SNP government has stepped in to save
:26:46. > :26:49.the Scottish steel industry, Ferguson 's shipyard Prestwick
:26:50. > :26:52.airport from closure and invested in support for oil and gas workers,
:26:53. > :26:56.does the first Minister agree that it's high time for the UK government
:26:57. > :27:00.to step up and take decisive action and explanation and development in
:27:01. > :27:03.the North Sea or else take the blame for one of the most shameful
:27:04. > :27:09.betrayal is in Scotland's industrial history. APPLAUSE
:27:10. > :27:17.Yes I do agree with that question, obviously we have earlier this week.
:27:18. > :27:20.This is actually quite an important matter and the serious issue for the
:27:21. > :27:24.oil and gas secretary in Scotland, I think people should perhaps show a
:27:25. > :27:28.slightly more respect. We have a report from oil and gas UK this week
:27:29. > :27:33.showing the work that the oil and gas industry has done to reduce its
:27:34. > :27:37.cost and become more efficient so it can be sustainable and hopefully
:27:38. > :27:41.competitive in an era of lower oil prices. I visited Aberdeen last
:27:42. > :27:45.Monday and met with oil and gas UK and discussed in more detail the one
:27:46. > :27:48.that was fun but one of the key themes coming through that meeting
:27:49. > :27:53.in coming through much of what we hear around oil and gas is the need
:27:54. > :27:56.for further support for exploration because it's today's exploration
:27:57. > :28:02.that is the production of tomorrow. We saw that in the report, still 20
:28:03. > :28:06.billion barrels potentially of oil to be exploited in the North Sea but
:28:07. > :28:09.he we have the exploration happening now and then the danger is that we
:28:10. > :28:13.don't get the benefit of that. So I would call in the UK government
:28:14. > :28:16.ahead of the often statement to add additional action, like it has done
:28:17. > :28:20.previously, on investment for exploration so we can continue to
:28:21. > :28:26.support the oil and gas sector as it comes through these difficult times.
:28:27. > :28:29.Given the number of the first minister's Westminster colleagues
:28:30. > :28:32.now helping the police with their enquiries is the first Minister
:28:33. > :28:39.confident that fully Scotland have the resources to deal with this
:28:40. > :28:45.upsurge in their workload? As the member is aware, we have committed
:28:46. > :28:48.to real terms protection of the police revenue budget which over
:28:49. > :28:52.this parliament will ensure it has an additional ?100 million to spend
:28:53. > :28:57.and I think that a particular achievement when we consider that
:28:58. > :29:06.since 2010 the Conservative government in London has cut our
:29:07. > :29:10.budget by 5% in real terms. APPLAUSE To as the first Minister whether she
:29:11. > :29:14.can explain how any political party can claim to be autonomous from
:29:15. > :29:21.London when relying on money from London to keep them afloat. I don't
:29:22. > :29:25.think any political party that relies on its London parent party
:29:26. > :29:33.for funding can claim to be autonomous. That would seem to me to
:29:34. > :29:34.be a contradiction in terms. To as the first minute of what
:29:35. > :29:37.representations the Scottish government will make to the UK
:29:38. > :29:42.government to ensure that reciprocal health care arrangements are a
:29:43. > :29:48.priority in Brexit negotiations? We understand the importance of EU
:29:49. > :29:51.health care arrangements to allow Scots to receive necessary health
:29:52. > :29:57.care using this European Union health card. We also recognise the
:29:58. > :30:02.considerable benefits of being able to travel in the EEA for plan
:30:03. > :30:05.treatment under the gas two scheme and for our pensioners to receive
:30:06. > :30:09.healthier finally choose to live in other EEA countries, so we will make
:30:10. > :30:13.it clear to the UK government that citizens must retain their access to
:30:14. > :30:25.access health care in Europe and I'm of the view that this must treated
:30:26. > :30:28.in Brexit negotiations. The Tory government said no contingency plans
:30:29. > :30:32.over the future of the European health insurance card service
:30:33. > :30:36.meaning potentially hefty medical bills for Scots travelling abroad.
:30:37. > :30:40.Three months on from the EU referendum as the first Minister had
:30:41. > :30:45.assurances on any services, benefits rights which we are currently
:30:46. > :30:48.entitled to as members of the EU and single market and how the government
:30:49. > :30:53.is ensuring we don't miss out on these.
:30:54. > :30:58.As I think has become abundantly clear in the last three months since
:30:59. > :31:04.the referendum, the government did note contingency planning for the
:31:05. > :31:07.event of Brexit, and I think that's a shameful abdication of its
:31:08. > :31:12.responsibility. In terms of the specific issue, we have received no
:31:13. > :31:16.assurances today from the UK Government on the benefits, services
:31:17. > :31:22.and rights Scots are currently entitled to. That uncertainty is
:31:23. > :31:25.disconcerting for businesses, universities, farmers, fishermen and
:31:26. > :31:29.Scottish people in general. That's why we will continue to work as hard
:31:30. > :31:32.as we can to protect the interests of Scotland and the people of
:31:33. > :31:38.Scotland is the discussions progress. Given reciprocal health
:31:39. > :31:42.care depends very much on health care provided in this country and
:31:43. > :31:48.given the First Minister said about health care earlier, can I ask is
:31:49. > :31:52.she aware of the moving of orthopaedic trauma from a hospital
:31:53. > :31:55.was one of the decisions made ten years ago and the decision was made
:31:56. > :31:59.in July with note public consultation. We'll see now call it
:32:00. > :32:05.in in-line with the will of the Scottish people. I don't think that
:32:06. > :32:15.is a supplementary on Europe and Brexit. Question five, Douglas Ross.
:32:16. > :32:19.What is the Scottish Government's response to the Chief Constable that
:32:20. > :32:23.it will take a two or three-year adjustment period to balance the
:32:24. > :32:27.police Scotland finances. As I announced in December and mentioned
:32:28. > :32:32.a few moments ago, we are protecting the police resources in real terms
:32:33. > :32:39.in every year of the Parliament, a boost of millions by the year 2021.
:32:40. > :32:57.I think the First Minister. The cancellation of the ?60 million I6
:32:58. > :33:00.project was announced recently. Does the First Minister agree that the
:33:01. > :33:04.shambolic failure of that project undermines the great efforts of
:33:05. > :33:07.police officers and staff across the country dealing with ever greater
:33:08. > :33:15.demands, including the challenges of dealing with a growing elderly
:33:16. > :33:18.population? I don't. Police Scotland and the Scottish police authority
:33:19. > :33:22.take decisions they consider to be appropriate and let's not forget our
:33:23. > :33:26.police do absolutely fantastic job, a very difficult job, and as we saw
:33:27. > :33:31.in crime statistics earlier this week, recorded crime is at a 42 year
:33:32. > :33:34.low in Scotland, something I think we should thank every single police
:33:35. > :33:37.officer across the country for. We will continue to work closely with
:33:38. > :33:41.police Scotland and the Scottish police authority to make sure
:33:42. > :33:46.pressures on their budgets can be properly managed and the protection
:33:47. > :33:51.I have already spoken about will help protect front-line policing
:33:52. > :33:56.services. As I said a moment ago, it beggars belief that Conservative
:33:57. > :34:01.MSPs in this chamber raise issues of public spending when conservative
:34:02. > :34:06.government at Westminster has reduced spending in real terms since
:34:07. > :34:09.2010. As we saw in the Fraser of Allender report, they look likely to
:34:10. > :34:14.cut the budget of the rest of this Parliament by up to ?1.6 billion. If
:34:15. > :34:18.Tory MSPs wants to make the case of a well funded public services, can I
:34:19. > :34:29.suggest they start making that case to their colleagues in Westminster.
:34:30. > :34:33.Christine Grahame. Would the Conservatives not be better to
:34:34. > :34:38.challenge their own government into returning the 75 million of VAT held
:34:39. > :34:41.against police Scotland, the only police service in the whole of the
:34:42. > :34:47.UK that has VAT levied on it? Absolutely. Christine Grahame is
:34:48. > :34:52.absolutely right. Police Scotland is the only police force in the whole
:34:53. > :34:55.of the UK that has VAT levied. If the Conservatives at Westminster
:34:56. > :34:59.want to ease the burden on police Scotland, then they could do so at
:35:00. > :35:08.the stroke of a pen by reimbursing the VAT payments, and I call on them
:35:09. > :35:12.today to do that. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish
:35:13. > :35:16.Government's response is to calls by those working with abuse survivors
:35:17. > :35:22.for an urgent investigation into the direction of the National strategy
:35:23. > :35:26.for survivors of childhood abuse? We are absolutely committed to
:35:27. > :35:29.preventing childhood abuse, and we have consistently engaged with
:35:30. > :35:35.survivors and support agencies across the country. Our current
:35:36. > :35:39.framework builds on the original survival Scotland strategy of
:35:40. > :35:43.support groups, and responds to the most recent evidence of impacts of
:35:44. > :35:47.child abuse, specifically responding to what survivors say matters most
:35:48. > :35:52.to them. We will of course continue to engage with organisations to
:35:53. > :35:56.raise concerns to understand their views folly and ensure everyone has
:35:57. > :36:01.accurate up-to-date picture of the current approach of our evidence
:36:02. > :36:04.-based strategy. I think the First Minister for that answer. These are
:36:05. > :36:09.difficult and sensitive issues, but they have to be addressed, and every
:36:10. > :36:14.day seems to bring fresh concerns. When some of the leaders in the
:36:15. > :36:19.field tell us that the National strategy for survivors of sexual
:36:20. > :36:24.abuse has lost its direction, has deviated from the original
:36:25. > :36:29.survivors' strategy, and describe the key body is unacceptable and an
:36:30. > :36:35.ethical, it's not enough for the First Minister to provide simple
:36:36. > :36:39.reassurance. We have also heard serious allegations against the head
:36:40. > :36:43.of survivors support and the Scottish Government, and have seen
:36:44. > :36:46.resignation of two of three panel members of this historic abuse
:36:47. > :36:51.enquiry amidst allegations of government interference. I do not
:36:52. > :36:57.doubt the sincerity of government efforts to get this right, but the
:36:58. > :37:03.First Minister must accept that as far as survivors are concerned, the
:37:04. > :37:06.government is getting it wrong. We'll be First Minister personally
:37:07. > :37:11.investigate this, and take the action required to correct it? Of
:37:12. > :37:16.course I will continue to take a personal interest in these issues.
:37:17. > :37:20.The Deputy First Minister has ministerial responsibility for these
:37:21. > :37:24.issues, and as we have seen in the chamber in recent weeks, takes these
:37:25. > :37:28.issues extremely seriously. Iain Gray made reference to the
:37:29. > :37:32.independent enquiry. I want to take the opportunity today to stress the
:37:33. > :37:36.independence from government that enquiry. The Deputy First Minister
:37:37. > :37:43.has appointed Ladysmith to chair that enquiry, a respected whose
:37:44. > :37:45.appointment I think removes completely any suggestion of
:37:46. > :37:49.anything other than complete independence. In terms of some of
:37:50. > :37:54.the other issues Iain Gray races, we take these issues very seriously,
:37:55. > :37:57.they are complex issues. When I answered the original question I
:37:58. > :38:01.took care to say to him that we would engage with the organisations
:38:02. > :38:05.who have raised these concerns, firstly to understand the concerns
:38:06. > :38:08.more fully. Without going into detail, at this stage we wouldn't
:38:09. > :38:13.agree with all those concerns, but we want to make sure we understand
:38:14. > :38:22.them to respond properly to them. We will continue to engage with
:38:23. > :38:24.survivors and survivors' groups, so we make sure the arrangements we
:38:25. > :38:27.have in place so the support for survivors are the right arrangements
:38:28. > :38:32.and they take full account of the impact on survivors. We take this
:38:33. > :38:35.extremely seriously. They will never be easy issues to get complete
:38:36. > :38:42.consensus around, but we will strive each and every day to do our best to
:38:43. > :38:47.achieve that. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish
:38:48. > :38:50.Government's position is on reports that there were 729 teacher
:38:51. > :38:58.vacancies the week before the start of the 2016-17 term. The figure of
:38:59. > :39:03.729 teacher vacancies is wrong. To get that figure Mr Scott included
:39:04. > :39:08.200 vacancies in Argyll and Bute. As of the 9th of August, the date that
:39:09. > :39:13.resulted in that figure, there were not 200 vacancies in Argyll and
:39:14. > :39:19.Bute, there were 12. I also understand that yesterday the Lib
:39:20. > :39:22.Dem convener of education in Argyll and Bute informed Tavare Scott of
:39:23. > :39:26.that, so I hope he will take the opportunity today to correct the
:39:27. > :39:32.record. In the time since the Lib Dem FOIA, many of the vacancies
:39:33. > :39:37.advertised have been filled. That said, we all want schools with the
:39:38. > :39:41.right number of teachers so every child has the potential to succeed
:39:42. > :39:46.and we will work hard to achieve that. I understand those figures are
:39:47. > :39:57.correct, but I don't think it's fair to blame and FOI junior officer.
:39:58. > :40:01.Would the First Minister accept that there were still 500 teaching
:40:02. > :40:04.vacancies at the start of the term, and would be First Minister accept
:40:05. > :40:08.the steady numbers of teachers leaving the profession is a cause
:40:09. > :40:10.for concern. Does she realise that yesterday the architect of
:40:11. > :40:16.curriculum for excellence, the way we teach our children in schools,
:40:17. > :40:22.said that the system is bedevilled by red tape, which Keir Bloomer said
:40:23. > :40:27.was self evident lunacy. With the First Minister instead look forward
:40:28. > :40:29.to the General teaching Council or the government investigating the
:40:30. > :40:34.reasons behind the teacher vacancies. First of all, I didn't
:40:35. > :40:38.blame anybody, other than perhaps Tavare -ish Scott, I simply made the
:40:39. > :40:41.point that the figure he used previously was wrong, he knew it was
:40:42. > :40:44.wrong, and given the fact he had just repeated it in Parliament, he
:40:45. > :40:49.might take the opportunity to acknowledge it was wrong. The other
:40:50. > :40:52.point about vacancies, before the start of the school term, there will
:40:53. > :40:58.be vacancies and those vacancies will reduce as we go into the school
:40:59. > :41:02.term. A figure of around 500 that he has now quoted will already have
:41:03. > :41:05.reduced. Of course we will continue to work with local authorities to
:41:06. > :41:09.ensure we keep teacher vacancies to an absolute minimum and we have the
:41:10. > :41:12.right numbers of teachers in our schools. In respect to the comments
:41:13. > :41:16.by Keir Bloomer, with the greatest of respect I would say that is
:41:17. > :41:22.exactly why John Swinney has been working as hard as he had in recent
:41:23. > :41:25.weeks, to reduce bureaucracy that teachers face, reduce their
:41:26. > :41:29.workload, and look at the government review that takes a long hard look
:41:30. > :41:32.at how schools are governed. This government is getting on with the
:41:33. > :41:35.reforms we need to see in our schools and I hope we have support
:41:36. > :41:41.from people across the chamber as we do so. Would be First Minister be
:41:42. > :41:44.able to tell us when the GT Casillas reforms that would allow those who
:41:45. > :41:54.have qualified as teachers in other countries would be able to teach in
:41:55. > :41:58.Scotland? -- the GTCS reforms. What we are absolutely determined to do
:41:59. > :42:00.as part of the work we are taking forward is make sure the
:42:01. > :42:04.arrangements we have in place through the General teaching Council
:42:05. > :42:10.support our dedicated to getting the best and brightest people into
:42:11. > :42:13.teaching in Scotland. I don't have the detail of the question to hand,
:42:14. > :42:20.but I will make sure it is provided to the member. Dundee suffered
:42:21. > :42:24.chronic teacher shortages last year. This year vacancies are in primary
:42:25. > :42:29.schools exclusively in the most deprived areas of our city. Council
:42:30. > :42:34.officials tell me that there is a significant under recruitment to
:42:35. > :42:39.teacher training. Why is this when it has such an impact on children
:42:40. > :42:43.and their education? We have continued to work to expand teacher
:42:44. > :42:46.training. We of course have provided funding to local authorities to
:42:47. > :42:49.maintain the number of teachers in our schools and we will continue to
:42:50. > :42:53.work hard to make sure we are getting the right numbers of
:42:54. > :42:57.teachers into our schools. There is a range of initiatives that we have
:42:58. > :43:01.taken forward in order to address particular shortages in particular
:43:02. > :43:05.areas. In the north-east of Scotland we were talking about the
:43:06. > :43:10.difficulties in the gas sector and one of the things we are taking
:43:11. > :43:15.forward in the north-east is to get former gas oil workers into teacher
:43:16. > :43:18.training. That is to make sure we have the right numbers of teachers
:43:19. > :43:21.in our schools. I have said repeatedly in this chamber that we
:43:22. > :43:25.need to make sure we have the best education system in the world for
:43:26. > :43:30.all our young people, whatever their background, and that's the top
:43:31. > :43:34.priority this government. That concludes First Minister's
:43:35. > :43:39.Questions. We now move to member's business. STUDIO: The conclusion of
:43:40. > :43:44.the First Minister's Questions. A diverse range of topics. We can chew
:43:45. > :43:51.over them now. Let's go with the question raised by Ruth Davidson,
:43:52. > :43:55.she was pushing very hard for an answer on fracking. But she ain't
:43:56. > :43:59.going to get one, because the First Minister was talking about the
:44:00. > :44:03.process. Then you have the two different policy standpoints, which
:44:04. > :44:08.were going on there. Nicola Sturgeon knew this question was coming today.
:44:09. > :44:11.When we saw the ships sailing under the bridges yesterday, I think she
:44:12. > :44:15.knew that was coming. Well prepared, she said there is a process that
:44:16. > :44:20.they will stick by, see it through, and that will dictate the timescale.
:44:21. > :44:24.You will not rush me for an answer. Did she give any hint at all, she
:44:25. > :44:28.accused the Tories of being prepared to ride roughshod over local
:44:29. > :44:33.opinion. I think that meant they were prepared to go towards fracking
:44:34. > :44:36.without taking... It wasn't necessarily her saying she was
:44:37. > :44:41.anti-fracking, she was trying to avoid saying that, but it was pretty
:44:42. > :44:45.close. We know the SNP don't like fracking. They don't want to be seen
:44:46. > :44:49.as anti-business though, so therefore they have to find a way of
:44:50. > :44:54.getting across that divide. The process is the way they do that.
:44:55. > :45:00.Caught on that conundrum, that dilemma between business and the
:45:01. > :45:04.environment. We are, and with the moratorium so far they have walked a
:45:05. > :45:07.tightrope between the two of them. Nicola Sturgeon said today there was
:45:08. > :45:11.a process under way, they want to look at the scientific process and
:45:12. > :45:17.ask about public opinion. But at the end of this they will have to come
:45:18. > :45:22.to a decision and this moratorium can't run for ever. Ruth Davidson
:45:23. > :45:26.try to accuse them of double standards. Being very sceptical
:45:27. > :45:29.about fracking in Scotland, but prepared to use imported shale gas
:45:30. > :45:41.from America and eventually perhaps from England.
:45:42. > :45:47.Some of the influences that have been made about discussions
:45:48. > :45:51.ministers have been had about fracking which perhaps don't reflect
:45:52. > :45:56.what they're the public. She was happy to say in the arts was
:45:57. > :46:03.important to Scotland. Trying to keep business onside and trying to
:46:04. > :46:07.take public opinion into account. Ministers have to decide ultimately
:46:08. > :46:11.on hospital provision and health provision, so they don't want to
:46:12. > :46:15.annoy local communities and Nicola Sturgeon says you cannot keep every
:46:16. > :46:24.hospital in exactly the same for ever, reflecting the vote last night
:46:25. > :46:32.in the chamber. What I love is that... One of the ways they seized
:46:33. > :46:36.power from Labour, everyone wants in my backyard all the hospital
:46:37. > :46:39.facilities and all this specialities, they want something
:46:40. > :46:42.the size of Royal Edinburgh infirmary at the end of their
:46:43. > :46:47.street. That was one of the big sticks that the SNP used to beat
:46:48. > :46:52.Labour, now incumbency kicks in, they are faced with necessary
:46:53. > :46:55.rationalisation of services as its leader who can legitimately make the
:46:56. > :47:00.attack and run with it and again Nicola Sturgeon's Ansa, she was well
:47:01. > :47:05.prepared on this one because it's an obvious one was to be able to see
:47:06. > :47:08.that we'll stick with the process, process, process, process and we'll
:47:09. > :47:12.see that through and then and only then would the secretary decide in
:47:13. > :47:18.the light of last night given decision. Last night given decision
:47:19. > :47:24.by the chamber was essentially a call to short cut that process. It
:47:25. > :47:28.was really to say to the Scottish ministers, coal in these decisions,
:47:29. > :47:34.make them major service changes, which means that the Health
:47:35. > :47:37.Secretary would be responsible for deciding the services stay or if
:47:38. > :47:43.they go, so the opposition parties want to put this responsibility on
:47:44. > :47:47.to Scottish ministers. He step aside for just a minute, see what's going
:47:48. > :47:52.on behind us. They are holding the earth, literally. About stopping
:47:53. > :47:54.climate chaos. You can see all the party leaders joining together.
:47:55. > :48:05.Nicholas they are agreed on that one. There
:48:06. > :48:08.are agreed on saving the earth but they were not agreed on the health
:48:09. > :48:12.provision. Quite a difficult one and she was accusing Labour of demanding
:48:13. > :48:18.something that they themselves would not have done in government. That's
:48:19. > :48:21.the game, you're the opposition party, you hold the government to
:48:22. > :48:26.account, the SNP were great at it now at last Labour are getting
:48:27. > :48:31.traction with this. Let's move on to another topic that came up at
:48:32. > :48:37.various points. Fully Scotland. Broner Fraser made an off-the-cuff
:48:38. > :48:40.remark well being very careful with your answer, what was he talking
:48:41. > :48:47.about when he said that SNP members were helping the police. The police
:48:48. > :48:58.budgets. It was a cheeky question. So many SNP helping the police with
:48:59. > :49:06.their enquiries, some questions that he's been answering with the police.
:49:07. > :49:11.In relation to financial things. They're convinced that matters will
:49:12. > :49:19.be cleared up. We had charges levied against Natalie McGarry. Police
:49:20. > :49:27.Scotland issue, it keeps dogging things. The Conservatives came in on
:49:28. > :49:32.the cancelled IT programme. What I thought was interesting, again,
:49:33. > :49:39.quite well prepared and her chances but for once an old hand came to her
:49:40. > :49:44.rescue. I'll tell her you said that. I think old hand is fair! Christine
:49:45. > :49:48.stepped in as a supplementary pointing out that a lot of the
:49:49. > :49:53.problems in shortage of money properly Scotland is that the UK
:49:54. > :49:57.police authorities pay VAT and of the Conservative government were to
:49:58. > :50:01.ease up on that, millions of pounds would fall back into fully Scotland
:50:02. > :50:05.covers. An interesting collectively let Conservatives and Nicola
:50:06. > :50:09.Sturgeon used on that. The police one is coming again and again,
:50:10. > :50:14.police numbers, provision, local provision, all coming as a result of
:50:15. > :50:24.the shake-up. The Liberal Democrats press that most vigorously. We saw a
:50:25. > :50:26.former and SNP Alistair Coote has come to the Justice committee again
:50:27. > :50:31.and again with these questions about fully Scotland. Christine Grahame
:50:32. > :50:37.stepped in and said what about the VAT issue because she was critical
:50:38. > :50:43.and friends in her questioning as what was going on with the fully
:50:44. > :50:47.Scotland budgets. Patrick Harvie raising the issue of treatment and
:50:48. > :50:51.literally accommodation for asylum seekers and seeking a public sector
:50:52. > :50:57.solution. Yes, I think his argument was that he accepted that providing
:50:58. > :51:04.accommodation for asylum seekers in Scotland is a reserved issue. Soon
:51:05. > :51:09.there is to come top of how they go about disbursing refugees more
:51:10. > :51:14.widely. At that point, the Scottish government begins to have a locus
:51:15. > :51:17.and he was urging Nicola Sturgeon to see is that Lethbridge, if you like,
:51:18. > :51:22.to try and make sure that we find a public sector solution and a public
:51:23. > :51:29.sector joint bid to avoid these things go to companies. Has
:51:30. > :51:33.vanished. The ads and all it contains full back up the stairs,
:51:34. > :51:37.you stay with us, another topic to talk about. The controversy about
:51:38. > :51:41.sectarianism in football, how could you know otherwise. An act was
:51:42. > :51:44.carried, the offensive behaviour in football and threatening
:51:45. > :51:50.communications act was carried to try to clamp down on online
:51:51. > :51:55.communications that were seen as being threatening and damaging and
:51:56. > :52:00.also sectarian matters associated with football. To say the least it
:52:01. > :52:05.has not been universally popular but MSP James Kelly is trying to scrap
:52:06. > :52:08.it and midway through a public consultation on this topic, but we
:52:09. > :52:12.decided to find out how things were going to catch up with them on how
:52:13. > :52:16.he felt that she was going and I began by asking him what was wrong
:52:17. > :52:23.with the act? It's absolutely clear that this legislation is not
:52:24. > :52:26.working. Not all the cases are charged proceed to court, some that
:52:27. > :52:31.proceed to court are kicked out on the basis that judges aren't able to
:52:32. > :52:36.interpret the law and that is not good legislation. It's time to get
:52:37. > :52:43.that of this legislation and put in place a proper practical strategy to
:52:44. > :52:46.tackle sectarianism. What with that strategy involved, ministers say
:52:47. > :52:50.they are not feuding al-Tanf and though the act is in place the say
:52:51. > :52:55.there has to be an alternative? It shouldn't involve cutting funding on
:52:56. > :53:01.anti-sectarianism projects which the government are doing just now. What
:53:02. > :53:05.would you do? It has to be a priority to work in communities, you
:53:06. > :53:08.need something, not a strategy worked out in Saint Andrews house by
:53:09. > :53:13.civil servants, let's involve the people on the ground in west Central
:53:14. > :53:17.Scotland, in churches and schools and charities. Let's listen to them.
:53:18. > :53:23.It's been tried for years and decades. Let's work with them so
:53:24. > :53:26.that we are listening to people on the ground working with people on
:53:27. > :53:31.the ground rather than sending police officers into football
:53:32. > :53:38.grounds with cameras to film fans, that's not helping. The act is in
:53:39. > :53:45.place, I know you regret the act but it in place what signal does it send
:53:46. > :53:48.if you know the move that legislation, does not send a signal
:53:49. > :53:52.that that sort of sectarian behaviour can go on and carry on
:53:53. > :53:57.singing about the Billy boys and the IRA. If you have impact in place and
:53:58. > :54:02.is not working, you don't continue with that, you get rid of that act
:54:03. > :54:08.and you reinforce the existing legislation, specifically around...
:54:09. > :54:10.What about the point of that message, does it send the message
:54:11. > :54:17.that Scotland has given up on it. I don't accept that at all and an
:54:18. > :54:21.incumbency with politicians and also on football clubs to make it clear
:54:22. > :54:27.that unacceptable behaviour, whether it is of a sectarian nature or not
:54:28. > :54:30.should be tackled and should be taken on, but you don't tackle it
:54:31. > :54:34.with legislation that is not working. Do clubs do enough, do
:54:35. > :54:38.Celtic, Rangers and the other clubs do enough or would they do more? I
:54:39. > :54:42.would like to see the clubs across the board to become more involved in
:54:43. > :54:45.promoting good behaviour among football fans. We have 96,000
:54:46. > :54:52.football fans at premiership grounds last week, let's try to promote
:54:53. > :54:55.football, it's our national game, we all enjoy it, let's get behind it
:54:56. > :55:00.and fight to bring people together to do that instead of introducing
:55:01. > :55:04.legislation which divides people. The act also include threatening
:55:05. > :55:08.behaviour online, crawling etc, without not be lost if you call
:55:09. > :55:13.round your of scrapping it. But if you look at the number of cases that
:55:14. > :55:24.have come through. Only 47 cases have been taken forward and of those
:55:25. > :55:27.only 11 prosecutions. There's already telecommunications
:55:28. > :55:32.legislation that deals with that. You say scrap the act. Scrapping act
:55:33. > :55:36.in full, we don't need an adequate legislation that's not working.
:55:37. > :55:42.That was James Kelly talking to me early on the subject of his attempt
:55:43. > :55:47.to abolish that act. I'm joined by my colleagues again. You hear the
:55:48. > :55:51.response from the Scottish government, they don't send to me
:55:52. > :55:53.very vigorous in defending the act, they're physically challenging Mr
:55:54. > :55:58.Kelly to come in with an alternative, but are they sliding
:55:59. > :56:02.on? What we've all got to accept is that this was a rotten piece of
:56:03. > :56:07.legislation, that's a fact. Much of the government would accept that. It
:56:08. > :56:11.was a classic piece of legislation is because something had to be done,
:56:12. > :56:15.dangerous dogs, whatever, something has to be done and something that
:56:16. > :56:18.have to be done and sometimes the message that is sent out is quite
:56:19. > :56:22.important. I'm a football fan, you're a football fan, we don't
:56:23. > :56:27.like... Unfortunately not at premiership football fan! Next year.
:56:28. > :56:32.Eason fans don't want this going on but above all this is where think
:56:33. > :56:37.James Kelly has massive travel, the public hates hooliganism and
:56:38. > :56:41.sectarianism. You try and sell the public the idea that this act should
:56:42. > :56:47.be abolished and you're going to get nowhere. He is acting under pressure
:56:48. > :56:52.from the campaign group Face which is mostly based within Celtic fans
:56:53. > :56:56.and I can't see where he's coming from and I agree that some of his
:56:57. > :57:00.criticisms of the act but if he tries to push at ease on the wrong
:57:01. > :57:05.side of the argument. James Kelly is adamant, you don't make things
:57:06. > :57:08.better by rotten lot. That's right and the government will have to look
:57:09. > :57:11.at this because the numbers don't stack up in the parliament with all
:57:12. > :57:15.the opposition parties saying they actually want to see something done
:57:16. > :57:19.about this act and abolished and I wonder if the Justice secretary
:57:20. > :57:22.might use the recent problems at Hampden Park at the Scottish cup
:57:23. > :57:29.final to look at the whole situation again. In most cases the clubs have
:57:30. > :57:34.been exonerated. They have not only been exonerated, the decision was
:57:35. > :57:40.that nobody could act because they refused strict liability, ie clubs
:57:41. > :57:50.being responsible for the trouble from their fans. Will there be
:57:51. > :57:53.something changed? I wonder if a combination of deep down accepting
:57:54. > :57:58.it is not a good piece of legislation. Without ever saying
:57:59. > :58:03.that. Yes, whatever. No action has to be taken on the cup final, that
:58:04. > :58:09.was the decision yesterday, we might go down the road on stronger
:58:10. > :58:14.pressure if clubs don't go on liability it might have to be done
:58:15. > :58:20.on statute. That is what the Justice secretary said he will do. On the
:58:21. > :58:26.subject of football, I'll be spending my weekend thing attention
:58:27. > :58:33.to the game outside the Premiership, a championship game, something from
:58:34. > :58:37.Edinburgh -- something from Edinburgh called Hibernian, IQ
:58:38. > :58:45.they're quite good! -- I hear they're quite good. First Minister's
:58:46. > :58:53.questions ranged quite widely, the police, fracking, police Cullen.
:58:54. > :59:02.From Holyrood and the Scottish Parliament -- police Scotland.
:59:03. > :59:09.Extraordinary scenes, here. The atmosphere, absolutely electric.