:00:21. > :00:30.Hello and welcome to Scotland politics. This afternoon NSP is well
:00:31. > :00:37.be debating the potential legacy of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
:00:38. > :00:44.They are still digesting the impact of the Governor of the Bank of
:00:45. > :00:47.England's statement yesterday. It is now time for questions to the first
:00:48. > :00:52.Minister. We can cross lied to the chamber. Ministers are offering the
:00:53. > :00:58.view of the government on childcare provision. That is part of the
:00:59. > :01:11.Scottish Government's page for independence. -- pitch for
:01:12. > :01:15.independence. Thank you. What engagements does the press Minister
:01:16. > :01:19.have the rest of the day? Engagements are to take forward the
:01:20. > :01:25.run's will romper Scotland. Thank you. Mark Carney said yesterday that
:01:26. > :01:31.he has no say in their being a currency union if there is a yes
:01:32. > :01:33.vote but he did say if there was one they would be shared institutions,
:01:34. > :01:48.shared mechanisms and tight fiscal rules. We would cede sovereignty.
:01:49. > :01:54.That would mean... Order, order. He obviously did not listen to what the
:01:55. > :01:57.governor said. But that of course is par for the course. Do not listen to
:01:58. > :02:03.anybody who says anything that might make you be challenged. That would
:02:04. > :02:09.mean an independent Scotland which mortgage rates, tax rates and a
:02:10. > :02:13.banking system and have our spending, borrowing and welfare
:02:14. > :02:19.decided I a foreign country we had just left. In that respect, can I
:02:20. > :02:23.pass on my gratitude to John Swinney and wish him all the best in his
:02:24. > :02:28.next role and ask the first Minister whom he would prefer as his
:02:29. > :02:34.replacement, Ed Balls or George Osborne? First Minister. I do not
:02:35. > :02:40.know how to break the news to her but we do not control a currency or
:02:41. > :02:45.interest rates at the moment. George intro -- Osborne does not control
:02:46. > :02:52.them either because they are controlled by the Bank of England.
:02:53. > :02:55.That was put in place some time ago. Being in a currency union does not
:02:56. > :02:59.mean you do not control the currency or the interest rates. We do not
:03:00. > :03:03.control these at the present moment. The list of other things that she
:03:04. > :03:08.went into, we do not control these either. They are controlled in
:03:09. > :03:13.London. Can I say to her some of the things that we shall control as an
:03:14. > :03:20.independent Scotland. She will find them on page 46 of the report
:03:21. > :03:26.published last year. Excise duty, air passenger duty, capital gains
:03:27. > :03:29.tax on oil and gas taxation. National insurance, corporation tax
:03:30. > :03:34.income tax, consumer protection, industry legislation, the minimum
:03:35. > :03:40.wage. All of these are hugely important. Environmental
:03:41. > :03:45.regulations, all of these things are controlled in London at the present
:03:46. > :03:52.moment and all these things will be controlled in Scotland in an
:03:53. > :03:56.independent Scotland. I fear the first Minister thinks all of this
:03:57. > :03:59.questioning is just ridiculous things that he does not have to do
:04:00. > :04:04.what. The rest of us are in the real world. I had thought that the first
:04:05. > :04:06.Minister said the reason we want independence is because all
:04:07. > :04:10.decisions about Scotland should be made in Scotland. It turns out he
:04:11. > :04:14.does not mind that all of these things will be decided elsewhere.
:04:15. > :04:20.Mark Carney said a couple of other things yesterday. The first was that
:04:21. > :04:26.he reported to the UK Parliament. This is a parliament from which Alex
:04:27. > :04:29.Salmond proposes to remove all Scottish representation. And Mark
:04:30. > :04:35.Carney also said the decision on a currency union was one entirely for
:04:36. > :04:39.politicians. Considering George Osborne has said that a currency
:04:40. > :04:44.union is highly unlikely, Ed Balls has said it is highly unlikely, and
:04:45. > :04:50.yesterday the Treasury said it was highly unlikely, what is the first
:04:51. > :04:56.Minister's lamp if a currency union fails? First Minister. Can I say to
:04:57. > :05:01.her that Stirling is as much a currency of the people of Scotland
:05:02. > :05:05.as it is for the currency of the rest of the UK and the Bank of
:05:06. > :05:09.England is an asset of the UK to which Scotland is entitled to a
:05:10. > :05:15.share. But his these shared proposals put forward by the
:05:16. > :05:19.Scottish Government. I read her a long list of things that an
:05:20. > :05:22.independent Scotland would control and I think those are really
:05:23. > :05:30.important. I think it is important to be able to set a minimum wage
:05:31. > :05:33.that keeps pace with inflation. Order, order. I think it is
:05:34. > :05:46.important instead of looking... Order! Why don't we have the power
:05:47. > :05:50.to abolish the bedroom tax? I think I think it is important to get the
:05:51. > :05:54.revenues from those transformations into Scotland. I think it is
:05:55. > :05:57.important to be able to abolish weapons of mass destruction in
:05:58. > :06:03.Scotland. I think it is important not to have to participate in
:06:04. > :06:07.illegal wars. These are the things we can do with independence that we
:06:08. > :06:11.cannot do a default Parliament. That is perhaps why the support for
:06:12. > :06:19.independence is growing and the support scaremongering is reducing.
:06:20. > :06:23.-- support for scaremongering. I am not sure at what point arguments
:06:24. > :06:29.simply become delusion but I think we are close to that point now. The
:06:30. > :06:32.first Minister must think that this heads of all the Scottish people but
:06:33. > :06:37.not the bag but at least after independence they will have sits.
:06:38. > :06:45.This is a ludicrous defence by a man who used to carry -- cry Freedom and
:06:46. > :06:58.now gives us a list of things that we could do... Order, order. Mr
:06:59. > :07:01.Russell. I am not sure that those brave hearts imagine they wanted
:07:02. > :07:05.independence because of child care! It exposes the fact that he no
:07:06. > :07:10.longer depends the concept of independence and self. The first
:07:11. > :07:17.Minister reminds me of a Japanese soldier who fought for 30 years
:07:18. > :07:23.after 1945. He refused to admit the war was over. The war and his
:07:24. > :07:29.currency plan is over and Alex Salmond has lost it. Instead of
:07:30. > :07:35.trying to nail his currency plan to his perch and make it seem alive,
:07:36. > :07:41.will he be honest with the people of Scotland? His adviser John K told
:07:42. > :07:44.him to come up with another plan. Will he now have the decency to
:07:45. > :07:56.share that plan with the people of Scotland? First Minister. Somewhere
:07:57. > :08:03.in that question that she asked she said that things I had mentioned
:08:04. > :08:07.were small things. That is like saying nuclear weapons are
:08:08. > :08:10.peripheral issue. Does she believe that the bedroom tax, the
:08:11. > :08:14.transformation of childcare, abolishing nuclear weapons in this
:08:15. > :08:22.country, not getting dragged into illegal wars, these are small
:08:23. > :08:26.things? Order. These are small things? Parental issues? They are
:08:27. > :08:31.the substance of the independence debate and that is the thing that
:08:32. > :08:35.people in Scotland must control. I read a long list of the economic
:08:36. > :08:39.things that would come under our control after independence. They
:08:40. > :08:44.were substantial things. Can I put it this way so that she
:08:45. > :08:50.understands? 7% of the taxation of this country we control under this
:08:51. > :08:54.Parliament. Under the Scotland Act that will increase massively to 15%.
:08:55. > :09:00.Under an independent Scotland we would control 100% of the taxation
:09:01. > :09:08.base of this country. That is independence. I expected there might
:09:09. > :09:14.have been something that challenge the question that I asked. Most of
:09:15. > :09:26.the things he mentioned he could do right now. What he concedes...
:09:27. > :09:30.Order. His vision of independence will be constrained by a foreign
:09:31. > :09:38.Chancellor. That is what the massive job yesterday was. -- the message of
:09:39. > :09:42.yesterday was. Is it going to happen and if it did, it could give this
:09:43. > :09:50.Parliament less power in the future then we now have. The first
:09:51. > :09:58.Minister... Comeback and listen to what is happening in the real world.
:09:59. > :10:05.-- come back. His answer is that after a Yes vote, after a Yes vote
:10:06. > :10:09.the rest of the United Kingdom will recount, they will you turn and
:10:10. > :10:16.start agreeing with everything he says. -- they will turn around. If
:10:17. > :11:01.they are going to turn around, published last year. On the first
:11:02. > :11:10.page he pays respect to the pioneering work of great Scottish
:11:11. > :11:26.economists. That was a significant reference. One of the authors of the
:11:27. > :11:33.fiscal report was mentioned. Is she seriously going to maintain that the
:11:34. > :11:39.areas which I mentioned, the areas over taxation policy, income tax,
:11:40. > :11:45.corporation tax revenues, DAT, air passenger duty, capital borrowing...
:11:46. > :11:49.These are not peripheral or small issues. These are the substance of
:11:50. > :11:55.just about every political debate we have had in this Parliament. At the
:11:56. > :12:00.present moment, John Swinney is in discussions to decide how we might
:12:01. > :12:05.be able, by going round the legislation, to find a way to
:12:06. > :12:09.mitigate the bedroom tax. Would it not be a lot easier if this
:12:10. > :12:22.Parliament just had the power to abolish it altogether? Order.
:12:23. > :12:25.Capital spending in this country... One of the reasons why our economic
:12:26. > :12:29.performance has been better than the UK as a whole, would it not be
:12:30. > :12:35.better if we could decide to increase capital spending in this
:12:36. > :12:39.country over the last few years? And if she actually believes that oil
:12:40. > :12:44.and gas taxation, the great natural resources of Scotland, are smaller
:12:45. > :12:48.peripheral matter, then she is talking to an electorate who are
:12:49. > :12:50.well aware if we mobilise these natural resources and combine them
:12:51. > :12:54.with the human resources in Scotland, then we can create a
:12:55. > :13:01.society that is prosperous and more just. That is the point and logic of
:13:02. > :13:08.Scottish independence. Ruth Davidson. Thank you. I would ask the
:13:09. > :13:12.first Minister when he will next meet the Secretary of State for
:13:13. > :13:18.Scotland. I have no plans in the near future but she would take the
:13:19. > :13:21.opportunity to do this associate herself and her body from the
:13:22. > :13:25.previous Secretary of State for Scotland, circulated by the
:13:26. > :13:28.Conservative hardy, arguing that a vote for independence would
:13:29. > :13:35.dishonour the sacrifice of people in war. Can she at least put that
:13:36. > :13:43.ridiculous point outside the scope of this debate? Ruth Davidson. I am
:13:44. > :13:47.not sure, given the campaign that is running in a national newspaper in
:13:48. > :13:51.Scotland, that the first Minister is on the strongest grounds talking
:13:52. > :13:54.about temperate statements that have we made. So I think the last
:13:55. > :13:58.exchange that we just heard in this chamber, had a little bit more keep
:13:59. > :14:04.than light so I suggest we all take a step back as we look at this
:14:05. > :14:08.issue. The first Minister and his white paper said an independent
:14:09. > :14:13.Scotland would have no autonomy over revenue and spending issues.
:14:14. > :14:20.Yesterday, Mark Carney said that an independent Scotland would need to
:14:21. > :14:23.cede national sovereignty. These statements are diametrically opposed
:14:24. > :14:28.so I would like to ask the first Minister a very specific question.
:14:29. > :14:32.Who should the people of Scotland believe? Alex Salmond or the
:14:33. > :14:45.Governor of the Bank of England? First Minister. My point to the
:14:46. > :14:49.Leader of the Opposition was this. We do not control these things at
:14:50. > :14:54.the present moment. Neither does the Chancellor of the Exchequer because
:14:55. > :14:57.the Bank of England has been operationally independent and has
:14:58. > :15:03.set interest rates over the last ten years and more. So I think it is
:15:04. > :15:07.right and proper to draw attention to the areas of the areas of fiscal
:15:08. > :15:13.policy, the substance of mobilising the natural resources of Scotland.
:15:14. > :15:17.Yes, I do think it is independence that controls 100% of taxation as
:15:18. > :15:24.opposed to the 7% we control at the moment. Ruth Davidson. What has been
:15:25. > :15:28.proposed in a white paper is a eurozone style act which Mark Carney
:15:29. > :15:32.yesterday specifically said had not worked for Europe. It would not work
:15:33. > :15:38.for us either. We're seeding of sovereignty, more pulling off the
:15:39. > :15:45.school resources. That is a two-way street. The first Minister is expect
:15:46. > :15:49.then the spurned spouse to agree to give up their independence over
:15:50. > :15:55.areas of tax and spending as well. Can I ask him, exactly what powers
:15:56. > :15:58.is the first Minister expecting England, Wales and Northern Ireland
:15:59. > :16:06.to give up to join his currency union? A currency union is an
:16:07. > :16:11.agreement to have it currency union so you can enjoy the benefits which
:16:12. > :16:18.Mark Carney set out in the speech yesterday. There are two reasons of
:16:19. > :16:20.the UK will want to join a currency union. The first is obvious,
:16:21. > :16:28.Scotland is the second-biggest market of the rest of the United
:16:29. > :16:32.Kingdom. The second is that according to the most recent
:16:33. > :16:36.indications, 71% of the people of England, Wales and the rest of the
:16:37. > :16:41.UK want Scotland to share the pound after Scottish independence. If that
:16:42. > :16:45.is what Scottish people want, that is what English people want, that is
:16:46. > :16:49.in the best interests of both countries, that is why I come to the
:16:50. > :16:55.conclusion this is a sensible proposition. Let's put it this way,
:16:56. > :16:59.I have got infinitely more confidence in the good judgement of
:17:00. > :17:06.the people of England than I will have in the bad judgement of George
:17:07. > :17:10.Osborne. First Minister will be aware this is
:17:11. > :17:17.the third week of the outbreak of Nora virus in the Borders General
:17:18. > :17:20.Hospital. Is he kept regularly informed of progress and is he
:17:21. > :17:26.satisfied all is being done to bring it to a swift conclusion. Yes, for
:17:27. > :17:31.understandable reasons, the Health Secretary and myself have kept a
:17:32. > :17:37.careful watch on the outbreak given the disruption it causes to hospital
:17:38. > :17:44.wards. Over Scotland as a whole, the Noro virus out rate has been less
:17:45. > :17:49.than last year. The member is right to point to the Borders -- outbreak.
:17:50. > :17:54.The level of the virus has been declining recently but she is right
:17:55. > :18:00.to say it has had a severe and dislocating the fact on certain
:18:01. > :18:04.areas, that is why the Health Secretary and myself have this
:18:05. > :18:08.uppermost in mind to continue plans to deal with the virus when it
:18:09. > :18:15.occurs and continue plans to try to eliminate that and other
:18:16. > :18:22.hospital-acquired infections. When will the Scottish -- winded the
:18:23. > :18:26.Scottish government last reviewed the complaints review system? We
:18:27. > :18:37.gave evidence to the public additions committee. The additional
:18:38. > :18:46.complaints review has been ongoing since 2011. We are grateful for her
:18:47. > :18:55.work and will help her to a swift handover. Like the First Minister, I
:18:56. > :18:59.would like to highlight the valuable contribution she has made in her
:19:00. > :19:06.role, 20 cases identified as breaches by the judicial office for
:19:07. > :19:09.Scotland since 2011. Following the decision by Miss Ali not to seek a
:19:10. > :19:15.second term under comments reported at the weekend, could the powers of
:19:16. > :19:19.the judicial complaints review gift the role greater independence,
:19:20. > :19:22.especially when compared to the equivalent powers and budgets in
:19:23. > :19:27.England and Wales and the role of the Northern Ireland judicial
:19:28. > :19:32.appointments ombudsman. Let's put it on record that I am grateful to Miss
:19:33. > :19:39.Ali for her valuable public service over the past 2.5 years and the
:19:40. > :19:44.improvements she has encouraged. The reviewer carries out
:19:45. > :19:48.responsibilities independent of the government and the judiciary. In her
:19:49. > :19:55.appointment for 2012 to 2013, the reviewer received 43 requests and
:19:56. > :20:00.enquiries, by comparison, the ombudsman for England and Wales
:20:01. > :20:06.received 110 complaints of which 482 concerned personal -- the personal
:20:07. > :20:12.conduct of officeholders. The budget reflects that difference. There is
:20:13. > :20:16.no process of judicial complaints in Northern Ireland but that is the
:20:17. > :20:20.position as we have it. We are grateful to Miss Ali for her work
:20:21. > :20:25.and for the commitment she has given to smooth the introduction of her
:20:26. > :20:31.successor. Can I ask the First Minister what's
:20:32. > :20:41.bought the Scottish government is giving to the. Scotch process? --
:20:42. > :20:50.what support. --. Scott. Earlier this week, it was confirmed the
:20:51. > :20:56.registry concluded contractural negotiations and domains would be
:20:57. > :21:02.available for sale this summer. There is an option for clearly
:21:03. > :21:11.expressing the Scottish affinity and identity online. I concur with the
:21:12. > :21:14.opportunities for industry in Scotland and in particular the
:21:15. > :21:20.gaming industry as they distinguish themselves as Scottish companies.
:21:21. > :21:26.How could the Dot Scot domain be used to harness and engage with the
:21:27. > :21:32.tens of millions of people in the Scottish Bias? She is right to point
:21:33. > :21:36.to the Scottish games industry where this opportunity will be
:21:37. > :21:40.particularly attractive. Around the world, there are tens of millions of
:21:41. > :21:46.people who claim a family connection to Scotland and many more tens of
:21:47. > :21:49.millions have an affection and affinity for our nation. So now the
:21:50. > :21:55.new Scottish domain has been confirmed, we have begun further
:21:56. > :21:58.research as to how we best use Dot Scot domains, consulting with
:21:59. > :22:03.various organisations as part of the process. There have been a number of
:22:04. > :22:07.occasions recently where a process which has been started on this
:22:08. > :22:11.Parliament's committee has come to fruition and we should take pride in
:22:12. > :22:17.the work of that committee in this Parliament.
:22:18. > :22:21.I am sure we can agree there will be commercial opportunities for
:22:22. > :22:24.Scottish companies using the Dot Scot name. Can the First Minister
:22:25. > :22:32.confirm there are no plans to replace existing -- the existing UK
:22:33. > :22:38.suffix used by many companies across Scotland? I thought for a second we
:22:39. > :22:41.were going to get the same unwavering support as the member
:22:42. > :22:44.gave to the Bannockburn celebrations, before he realised he
:22:45. > :22:49.was out of touch with the rest of his party. I would have hoped even
:22:50. > :22:53.the Conservative party should agree that this is an opportunity that the
:22:54. > :22:57.public authorities and government and the people of Scotland should
:22:58. > :23:01.embrace, and if that leaves behind the attitudes of the Conservative
:23:02. > :23:04.benches, I think I know which side the people of Scotland and the
:23:05. > :23:12.companies and public authorities of Scotland will be on! What is the
:23:13. > :23:16.Scottish government's response to the report by the Joseph Rowntree
:23:17. > :23:22.Foundation about the number of families living below the national
:23:23. > :23:28.standard? Based -- they found the percentage of households was 21%
:23:29. > :23:34.below average income, a rise of 3% since 2,000 -- since 2008. The
:23:35. > :23:37.proportion of families below the standard rose sharply last year as
:23:38. > :23:43.benefit and tax credit cuts started to kick in. It is an except double
:23:44. > :23:46.in a country as prosperous as Scotland a fifth of the population
:23:47. > :23:53.should be living below socially accepted minimum hinders -- incomes,
:23:54. > :23:56.so we need independence to defend the welfare system, expand childcare
:23:57. > :24:03.and abolish the wealth -- and abolish the bedroom tax. Thank you
:24:04. > :24:07.for his expert did response. The report states the number of families
:24:08. > :24:11.under the national standard has increased by 70,000 over five
:24:12. > :24:16.years. 82,000 of those families are now under even greater financial
:24:17. > :24:20.strain because of the financial tap. We have asked the government
:24:21. > :24:25.for the best part of the year to fully mitigate the bedroom tax. We
:24:26. > :24:31.have provided evidence of the power he has to do that. The fact
:24:32. > :24:35.confirmed by audit Scotland in relation to Renfrewshire Council.
:24:36. > :24:37.Can the First Minister tell me whether his government will provide
:24:38. > :24:44.the funds to mitigate the full impact of the bedroom tax? I welcome
:24:45. > :24:50.the fact Jackie Baillie is acknowledging that control of social
:24:51. > :24:54.security is fundamental to defeat inequality in Scotland, which makes
:24:55. > :25:01.her and the Labour Party position that these positions should be
:25:02. > :25:07.retained by Westminster, all the more baffling. We note the way to
:25:08. > :25:13.get money to people is through housing payments. John Swinney has
:25:14. > :25:17.been meeting to see if there is a measure we can use legally in order
:25:18. > :25:23.to try and defeat the bedroom tax in Scotland. But every single one of us
:25:24. > :25:27.in Scotland knows the way to defeat the bedroom tax and the rest of the
:25:28. > :25:32.impositions for the poor and disabled in Scotland is to take the
:25:33. > :25:37.powers over Social Security that Jack -- that Jackie Baillie alone
:25:38. > :25:43.wants to continue to reside at Westminster. Is the First Minister
:25:44. > :25:51.in favour of on minimum income paying more tax and if not, why does
:25:52. > :25:55.his white paper reject proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrats to
:25:56. > :26:02.further raise the income tax to ?12,500. It sets out the policies of
:26:03. > :26:06.the SNP which will transform a lot of the poor and low paid in
:26:07. > :26:10.Scotland, rather than the government, of which his party so
:26:11. > :26:16.loyally supports, which has covered sections of Scotland with inequality
:26:17. > :26:21.and poverty. So for anybody supporting the Tory, Liberal
:26:22. > :26:28.Alliance who have visited this -- you have put this on the poor of
:26:29. > :26:35.Scotland requires a snack. -- ape wrasse neck. Would he agree
:26:36. > :26:40.statutory minimum wage should be at a higher level that people can live
:26:41. > :26:47.on and that the Westminster governments have failed to achieve
:26:48. > :26:53.this? I hear that it is ridiculous. Since the recession of 2008, under
:26:54. > :26:56.the Labour government and the Tory and liberal Alliance, the minimum
:26:57. > :27:02.wage has failed to keep pace with the cost of living. If inflation
:27:03. > :27:05.increases had been introduced five years ago, some of the lowest paid
:27:06. > :27:11.would be earning over ?600 a year more. That is why the white paper
:27:12. > :27:18.indicate the way forward is to ensure that at least we should
:27:19. > :27:21.ensure by statute that the minimum wage has to keep pace with the cost
:27:22. > :27:26.of living so we will not have a situation in the future where the
:27:27. > :27:33.lowest paid at the end of the economic sacrifices that have to be
:27:34. > :27:38.made. -- bear the brunt. What Scotians has the social government
:27:39. > :27:42.-- the Scottish government had over provision of primary school places?
:27:43. > :27:47.Their regular discussions over this with local authorities about a range
:27:48. > :27:51.of issues. It is a statutory sponsor ability of each local authority to
:27:52. > :27:56.provide an adequate number of school places for children and young people
:27:57. > :28:02.in its areas. We have reduced the legal time you want class size limit
:28:03. > :28:07.from 30 to 25, which ensures youngest pupils get more time with
:28:08. > :28:10.teachers. Parents at the very successful and popular Hill house
:28:11. > :28:15.brewery school have been told by the local authority they might not be a
:28:16. > :28:19.title to a place at the school because it is heavily oversubscribed
:28:20. > :28:24.-- Hillhead primary school. It is causing a great deal of anger
:28:25. > :28:30.particularly among parents who have moved into that catchment area. Will
:28:31. > :28:34.he agree a system they stand catchment areas which is Pioli
:28:35. > :28:39.supply driven is not working well enough and should be replaced by one
:28:40. > :28:46.that is demand led and were errant have maximum choice? -- Pioli supply
:28:47. > :28:49.driven. -- Pioli. I do not agree, the system proposed by the
:28:50. > :28:57.Conservative party has indicated in the past that it leads to huge chaos
:28:58. > :29:03.and disruption on the system. Local authority statute responsibility
:29:04. > :29:07.indicated that and I am sure Glasgow will follow that through. In the
:29:08. > :29:11.first session of this Parliament, we had a range of debates were a number
:29:12. > :29:15.of speakers said not enough schools were being refurbished or built, I
:29:16. > :29:22.have heard less of that in recent times and I now know the reason why.
:29:23. > :29:28.In the period of two terms of Labour government, 328 schools were
:29:29. > :29:36.completed or refurbished in Scotland. The total so far for this
:29:37. > :29:39.SNP government is 463. Given the capital constraints we have been
:29:40. > :29:43.working under, the Labour Party do not want to talk about this any
:29:44. > :29:51.more, no wonder, because it indicates the success of the SNP and
:29:52. > :29:53.the failure of the government! The First Minister may be aware that
:29:54. > :29:58.classroom assistants in primary schools in Dundee are being moved
:29:59. > :30:02.out of primary schools where they give support to primary one and
:30:03. > :30:09.primary to and into nursery schools. Can he commit to make sure that no
:30:10. > :30:15.reductions in support for primary one and two across Scotland? I have
:30:16. > :30:19.given the figures already in terms of improvements that have been made.
:30:20. > :30:26.Given what we saw in terms of the discussion, but it this way, between
:30:27. > :30:34.the Labour administration in Glasgow, anybody should hesitate
:30:35. > :30:37.before attacking individual local authorities. Local authorities have
:30:38. > :30:42.statutory responsibilities, the improvements in terms of people and
:30:43. > :30:50.teacher ratio are clear and evident to see, as is the vast number and
:30:51. > :30:53.increase of schools that have been built and refurbished the length and
:30:54. > :30:58.breadth of Scotland. I know she was not around but I can assure her, in
:30:59. > :31:03.the last session of this Parliament, her colleagues wanted to attack the
:31:04. > :31:07.SNP government because as they saw it, there were not enough skill --
:31:08. > :31:13.not enough schools being built. Now the figures show the opposite,
:31:14. > :31:16.apparently it has nothing to do with this Government. It is part of the
:31:17. > :31:23.success as -- of the schools for future programme.
:31:24. > :31:27.A discussion towards the end about money and public spending. The
:31:28. > :31:35.biggest arguments about money with the currency. It is time to say
:31:36. > :31:36.goodbye from this session of questions to the First Minister,
:31:37. > :31:40.more polity is now. -- of young children but in a caravan
:31:41. > :31:46.it is fine, a similarly imposed space. This is the march of the
:31:47. > :31:50.nanny state, the patronising nanny state where we know best and other
:31:51. > :31:52.MPs have come into Parliament