 c extraction anływ i esfonodd yr dgymgabeth â arnyntg swyddoedd현. Thank you. We move to First Minister's Questions, question number one, Kessia Dugdale. To ask the First Minister what engagement she has planned for the rest of the day. First Minister. Engagement is to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland. Kessia Dugdale. President? Minister, Alex Salmond told the Courier on the 8 January that the SNP would fought y ddaeth y ddiemlo addysg hwnol o'ch fobod ffysgfaith oherwydd hynny y gallwn ei ddyg認 i gwneud fel y bernid ysgol. The First Minister is one more moment to hold on the front page. I believe that Scotland should be in charge of our resources. Labour is trying to divert attention from something rather yn eu bodain i chi i chi gweithio i gynnwys mwy oherwydd Peirburiedeedd cais fynd i gweithio enw i gael eich ei bodai i chi i ei gweld Caesia, Schuiddfa, Lleidberd, Lleidwyr, i chi'n darwch i'ch ystod gael y Llywodraeth Cymraenol, a chyfodwch allwch iawn, yn ddigonol 30 billion pound ddeschol. of cuts. That is what we face if Labour gets its way. I think it is far better for Scotland to be in charge of our own resources. Kezia Fyld. Presiding Officer, I will not take a lecture from my First Minister that cannot even spend the money that she has got. What is more, the Labour party stands for a 50p tax, a mansion tax, a bankers tax, all things that the Tories do not support and neither, by the way, Presiding Officer, Radio this morning, Fergus Ewing said that oil crisis is the most serious job situation Scotland has faced in living memory. Yesterday, the First Minister said that jobs were under threat. It begs the question why the First Minister took so long to find Aberdeen on a map. During her visit, the First Minister admitted that falling oil prices posted a threat to jobs in Scotland. Will the First Minister now also admit that falling oil prices poses a risk to revenue as well? Can I just first remind members across the chamber exactly what Labour stands for? Here it is, the Tories' Charter for Budget Responsibility, which the Tories themselves say demand 30 billion pounds of additional cuts. That is what Labour voted for with the Conservatives in the House of Commons this week. Diane Abbott, Labour MP, said that in doing so Labour had done a great disservice to hardworking people across the country. The only Labour MP in Scotland that had the gumption to go against Tory cuts was Katie Clark, Kezia Dugdale's opponent for deputy leader. I'm sure there's a few Labour members today who wonder if they picked the wrong person. The serious issue of the jobs concern in the North Sea is that yesterday I established a jobs task force to work to maintain employment levels in the North Sea, to give practical assistance to those who are faced with the prospect of redundancy and to give a guarantee to every apprentice working in the oil and gas sector. That's the kind of practical help that people want from the Scottish Government, not petty political point-scoring that we're getting from Labour. Thousands of jobs at risk in the North Sea and Nicola Sturgeon's priority is to have a pop at the Labour Party. The First Minister has spent two years telling us how important the Barnett formula is to Scotland. I agree, and the Bank of England Governor's comments from yesterday show how important being part of the UK is for Scotland. However, the reality of the First Minister's plan for full fiscal autonomy would be to trade the stability of Barnett for the instability of oil prices. Can the First Minister tell us what assessment has she made to the cost of public spending in Scotland from her plan to bin Barnett? The First Minister? Westminster parties really have no shame. If their argument is that Scotland's finances are not equipped to cope with a period of low oil prices, the simple fact is that that is a direct result of decades of Westminster mismanagement. Does Kezia Dugdale never ask herself why we never hear anyone question her ability to run its own affairs during periods of low oil prices? That is because they have accumulated a £500 billion oil fund. By contrast, Westminster parties have raked in £300 billion from the North Sea, and they have not saved a single penny. If the problem is Westminster mismanagement, it strikes me as incredible to suggest that the solution is even more Westminster mismanagement. On the last two or three years, let me tell you what this Government has been doing to help the sector in the North Sea. We in 2011 voted against the 12 per cent hike in the supplementary charge that has crippled exploration and investment in the North Sea. Labour did not vote against it. Labour has been silent as we have been calling for the tax change that the industry told me yesterday that they now desperately need. Why does the Scottish Labour Party not get behind the efforts of the Scottish Government and desist from the petty political point-scoring? Kezia Dugdale is a new First Minister, but it is the same old song. At my first out-in-it First Minister's question, I offered those benches support to the First Minister if she could tell us specifically what it was she was asking the UK Government to do. Since that point, Jim Murphy has written twice to Nicola Sturgeon, asking her to spell out what it is she wants from the UK Government, and twice she has failed to respond. We checked that again this morning. Can I say, Presiding Officer, that the First Minister, her own figures on how much money we would have to spend on public services has been out by billions in the last two years. The experts tell us that Barnett is worth £16 billion for Scotland. The First Minister continues to base her economic and social policy on an oil price that is double the reality. Is not it the case that, although Nicola Sturgeon thinks that it is smart for the SNP's election campaign, her plan to bin Barnett is downright bad for Scotland? The First Minister's order. The First Minister says that she does not know what it is that the Scottish Government is specifically asking the UK Government to do to help the North Sea industry. Let me repeat it for her. A general investment allowance that our modelling shows could protect 26,000 jobs every year. We want that allowance, as the industry does, to be basin-wide. Secondly, we want a reversal of the increase in the supplementary charge. Our modelling shows that that could protect up to 5,600 jobs every year. Thirdly, we want the UK Government to introduce an exploration tax credit. When Norway did that in 2005, its rates of exploration increased fourfold. Those are the practical measures that we are calling for. If Kezia Dugdale had not heard them, I do not think that she has been listening hard enough. When it comes to the fiscal future of Scotland, let me just repeat this point. Labour this week trooped through the lobbies in the House of Commons with its allies in the Conservative Party to impose £30 billion of additional cuts on Scotland. That is what will have an impact on Scotland's public services. That is what will have an impact on Scotland's economy. Scottish Labour MPs should be deeply, deeply ashamed of themselves. Ruth Davidson Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the First Minister when she will next meet the Secretary of State for Scotland. No immediate plans. Ruth Davidson About two years ago, the SNP Government started producing a series of oil and gas bulletins to predict the tax revenues from the North Sea. Those bulletins allowed SNP ministers to tell Scotland that, and I quote, there can be little doubt that Scotland is moving into a second oil boom. We all wish that that was true, but it's not, and anyone who questioned it was shouted down. That matters, because the First Minister has confirmed again today that, after the general election, it wants to get rid of the block grant and use oil to pay for Scotland schools and hospitals. You'd think, therefore, that they'd want figures to show how much revenue that would raise over the coming years. Can the First Minister confirm today that the Scottish Government has now decided to stop publishing those bulletins? No, we will publish an oil and gas bulletin in due course. In order to predict tax revenues from the North Sea, you have to first know what the tax rates that apply to the North Sea are going to be. That brings us right back to the point that we are making. The UK Government hasn't yet told us what the position is going to be on the supplementary charge or on an investment allowance or on exploration tax credits, so if Ruth Davidson wants to join with me and calling today on the Prime Minister, on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the energy secretary to stop prevaricating and introduce tax changes now that the industry is crying out for, then I will very much welcome her support. I'm very pleased to hear that the SNP Government is going to produce further oil and gas bulletins. It seems slightly at odds with a PQ lodged by my colleague Gavin Brown on 18 December, answered by her oil minister that didn't say the same that I'm happy to make public through spice. What I would like to know is that future oil and gas bulletins use exactly the same methodology as the ones previously suggesting a second oil boom for Scotland. I welcome not just the bulletin but all concrete steps to help the oil and gas industry, including the task force that the First Minister is setting up. I note, however, that it seems to be reporting to a body whose stated remit is to allow rapid response to oil industry needs but which has not met in seven months. When it comes to oil, this Government has inflated the figures for political ends, its response has been insufficient and frankly I would suggest anything but rapid. So yes, let's all work together on short term issues. But when there is an industry in crisis, jobs are being lost, when the Governor of the Bank of England says Scotland's spending is being protected from such a crash, it's only damaging to talk of ripping the industry out of its current UK framework, or doesn't the First Minister agree? First, on Ruth Davidson's commitment to support all practical measures, I welcome that. It's certainly a welcome change of attitude from a supporter of a Government that increased the supplementary charge from 20 per cent to 32 per cent, something that has had such a damaging impact on the industry. The first part of her question, the task force that I established yesterday will meet before the end of this month. It will report into the Scottish Energy Advisory Board, which will meet on the same day that the Scottish Cabinet will be in Aberdeen on 16 February under my chairmanship. This Government will do everything we can to help the industry during this period and will continue to look at all practical suggestions for what we can do. But when I met industry representatives yesterday, they were universal in their demand for action from the UK Government, for action now, not sometime in the future on tax, and for action to accelerate the pace of the implementation of the new oil and gas authority, the new regulator for the industry. Instead of coming here, as she does, because it's First Minister's question, and suggesting that those things lie within my gift, I think that Ruth Davidson would be far better advised to join me in calling on the UK Government to get its act together to implement those changes now, because if she does so, she won't just have my support for that, she'll have the support of the industry as well. The First Minister will be aware of the announcement of job losses at BP, headquartered at Dyson, my constituency, and that today's press and journal has suggested that Premier Oil, based at King's Wells in my constituency, may follow suit. Can I welcome the establishment of the energy jobs task force and ask the First Minister how the task force will interact with these companies and affected employees as many of my constituents are going to be affected by these announcements? The task force will implement a co-ordinated response to the current challenges with all partners in government, our agencies, the trade unions and industry working together across the sector to maintain jobs and to mitigate the potential impact of any losses. The task force will decide how best to address specific circumstances and will laze with the companies and individual employees concerned to identify the practical advice and assistance that might be provided. They will, in the process of doing that, of course raise awareness of existing initiatives and support that is available from organisations like Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International, Skills Development Scotland, Local Authorities and PACE. The task force will have a role in matching skills requirements to market demand, encouraging the industry's sub-sectors to collaborate to ensure core transferable skills are retained here in Scotland. Over the last few days, the people of Malawi have been affected by severe flooding in a number of areas in the south of the country and in Rwmfaen Caronga in the north. It is reported that at least 48 people have been killed and 69,000 have lost or been forced from their homes. The president has declared a state of natural disaster and has appealed for international help to provide shelter, food and basic sanitation in the affected areas. It is rightly said that it is the poorest and most vulnerable, her most affected by climate change and in Malawi this week we have the unfortunate proof of that fact. Can I ask the First Minister, therefore, what additional help her Government can provide at this time and put on record this Parliament's solidarity with our colleagues and friends in Malawi struggling to deal with the consequences of this disaster? Can I commend Patricia Ferguson for raising this important issue in Parliament today? I am sure that I speak on behalf of everybody in the chamber when I say our thoughts are very much with the people of Malawi. I have no hesitation in expressing, as Patricia Ferguson has asked me to do, the solidarity not just of this Parliament but I am sure of the entire Scottish nation with Malawi at this time. Patricia Ferguson will be very well aware of the very good work that the Scottish Government does in Malawi and we stand ready to help with the current situation in any way that we practically can. It may be helpful to Patricia Ferguson to meet Fiona Hyslop and Humza Yousaf, the minister responsible here, both to hear what the Scottish Government is and might be able to do but also to hear suggestions from Patricia Ferguson and others that might help to develop our own thinking in the matter. To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. First Minister, matters of importance to the people of Scotland. If you are an oil worker in Aberdeen today about to lose their job, I think that you would be appalled by what we have witnessed over the last 20 minutes. The response from the First Minister was completely inadequate. We are all interested in the future of this sector and to claim otherwise, I think, lets her down. Working in partnership is essential. I was pleased to see the establishment of the Scottish Government's task force yesterday but was surprised that UK bodies such as Job Center Plus, Department of Energy and Department of Business were excluded. Can I invite her to open up the task force to include all those with an interest of the future of this important sector? Willie Rennie, I agree with him in many respects in terms of the tenor of his question. I believe that the most important thing that we have to deal with right now is the jobs situation, which is why yesterday I announced the jobs task force and the apprenticeship guarantee. The first question that I was asked in this session of First Minister's question was not about jobs, it was an attempt to score political points. I am glad that Willie Rennie has brought us back to the question of jobs. On the issue of the membership of the task force, nobody is being excluded. I want to make sure that we work with all interested parties and everybody who has a contribution to make. We are, as Willie Rennie has just heard, making very specific calls on the UK Government for the action that we believe it should take. I am also very open through the work that we are doing to the contribution of the UK Government and I would be happy to take forward Willie Rennie's question in that spirit. Willie Rennie? If she is changing the Government's policy to include Job Center Plus, the Department of Business and the Department of Energy, I would welcome that. That is not what she said on the television last night. She deliberately excluded those organisations from her role in the task force. She started off her premiership by claiming that she wanted consensus, but all she seems to be interested in now is exclusion. So, when so many people's jobs are at stake, will she change her mind? Will she clarify? Is Job Center Plus going to be included? Is the Department of Energy going to be included? Is the Department of Business going to be included? That is what this chamber wants to hear. First Minister? I do not know what Willie Rennie thinks he saw on the television last night. I said nothing at any point yesterday that excluded anybody from the work of the task force. So, in direct answer to Willie Rennie's question, yes, I would welcome the contribution of all of the agencies he has spoken about and we will seek to procure the engagement of those agencies. Willie Rennie might also be interested to know that one of the recent jobs task force that this Government established over the closure and job losses at Vion, the Scottish Government worked in that example seamlessly with both the DWP and Job Center Plus. So our record says that when it comes to protecting jobs, when it comes to standing up for crucial sectors of our economy, then this Government will work with anyone and therefore I'll be happy to have the contribution from all of these agencies and departments that Willie Rennie has spoken about. So instead of still trying to suggest there's some disagreement between us here, I suspect he should be welcoming the outbreak of consensus on that point. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to support NHS front-line services. The Scottish Government has protected and increased NHS Scotland's front-line budget and that has enabled boards to increase NHS staffing to a record level. This has been achieved against a backdrop of the current Westminster Government slashing of our fiscal resource budget by 10 per cent. This week, we announced a further uplift for NHS territorial boards of £65 million in the next financial year, which will ensure that all boards funding increases by at least 1 per cent above the rate of inflation. I thank the First Minister for that answer, but given that 60 per cent of the cuts to the Scottish revenue budget imposed by Westminster are still to come, does she agree that in order to give the NHS both its dedicated staff and the people who use it day in and day out the certainty which they need for the future, all parties in this chamber should commit to increase the NHS revenue budget in real terms for the remainder of this Parliament and for each and every year of the next Parliament? Yes, I agree very strongly with that. It is exactly why we have committed to increasing the NHS budget in real terms, not only for the remainder of this Parliament but for each and every year of the next Parliament too. To give that commitment to the resource budget of the NHS is extremely important for planning purposes. I think that it is incumbent on every party in this chamber to give an unequivocal commitment to match those plans so that our NHS does have that degree of certainty for the years ahead. Does the First Minister anticipate further pressure on NHS services over the next few weeks? The NHS always works under pressure. The NHS has worked under pressure since the day and hour. It was established in 1948, but under pressure it does a fantastic job. Those working in the front line do a fantastic job. The health secretary and I are in very close engagement and oversight of the current winter pressures that the NHS is coping with. We will continue to be so in the health secretary in the chamber yesterday spoke of our determination to make sure that we learn for the future to look at what we can do better with the NHS boards to prepare even better for winter in the future. Given that we are still in the grip of winter, it is important for all of us across the chamber to record our thanks to all of our staff across the NHS for the fantastic work that they are doing. To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Government's budget underspends has increased over the past few years when its budgets have been reduced. I am glad to hear that at last Jackie Baillie at least acknowledged the fact that Scottish Government's budgets have been reduced. In fact, over the course of the current spending review, we face a real terms cut in our fiscal dell budget of about 10 per cent, with our capital budget being cut by over a quarter in real terms. As we have just heard, Labour has signed up to continue with those cuts by voting for the Tory budget plans this week. On the budget underspend, the claims that I have heard from the Labour Party go some way to explaining why Labour is no longer in charge of our public finances. In terms of the money that the Scottish Government actually has discretion over, the underspend amounts to £145 million, which is 0.5 per cent of our budget. As John Swinney told Parliament in June, every penny of that will be spent this year. By contrast, the last Labour Government, by the time that it left office in 2007, had accumulated underspend of £1.5 billion. It is the case that the budget underspend has risen to £444 million. That is double the amount in the previous financial year. At a time when teacher numbers are cut, college places have been slashed and police stations have been closed across the length of the country. Can the First Minister tell me that when John Swinney said, long gone are the days when hundreds of millions of pounds of government money are being spent? Was he just indulging in wishful thinking? The First Minister said that he would not be able to do anything to help communities across the country. Was he just indulging in wishful thinking? Zi'n cael ei Pegado dug소 eich bombo yn hollu cyail Sultan dogwyd? Rydw i ddeithas國家 ynghylchu'r eu Stock in... roeddades pinai oherwydd muol o dyfodicorn yr iawn achos flyience er welwch bod SNF yn gydaやfogu Shan Mo drawings. 35 cwestiwn ymuno yn cael Llych yn yn teimlo o ringos y Dmyg. Rhywun i'ch bade fel Diolch yn yr oedd daeth faktau. sport person doesn't understand. £444 million is the figure she cites. Doesn't Jackie Baillie know that 80 per cent of that figure reflects variances in annual managed expenditure programmes and other non-cash accounting budgets? Those are underspends of money that the Scottish Government has no discretion over. We can't decide that it's spent in any other way. That's a pretty basic fact about Scottish Government budgeting, that if Jackie Baillie wants to go any further in the current role that she's in, I suggest that she does some studying and gets herself familiar with. The underspend of the money that we control is, as I said, £145 million, half a per cent of our budget. Most people, I think, would describe that as prudent budgeting, and every single penny is currently being spent now protecting our public services. I'll take the prudent stewardship of our budget of John Swinney any day over the budgetary ignorance of Jackie Baillie. Is it true that last year the Scottish Government had an underspend of millions of pounds on the Youth Employment Scotland programme at a time when youth unemployment was over 15 per cent? Well, any underspend in money that the Scottish Government is responsible for carries forward into this year to be fully spent on the programmes of the type that Gavin Brown is talking about, not a single penny of that money lost to what the Scottish Government is seeking to support. Given the record of the Scottish Government in improving the position around youth employment and unemployment, there is still much work to do. I think that Gavin Brown should welcome the initiatives that we are taking and also welcome the prudent financial stewardship of John Swinney that has allowed us to do so much to help so many people across the country. To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government in light of the recent terrorist attacks in France. First Minister. Scottish Government officials have been in regular contact with UK Government counterparts and with Police Scotland regarding the recent terrorist attacks in France and what the implications might be for Scotland. I have also been in contact with the French Consul General and I have written to President Hollande expressing the support and solidarity that Scotland has with the French people. Liz Smith. I thank the First Minister for some reassurance. Clearly one of the most sensitive aspects of the current situation is the debate about a possible ban on extremist speakers at universities and other educational institutions. I wonder if the First Minister could confirm whether the Scottish Government is also engaged in these discussions with universities UK and that prior to the new anti-terrorist legislation expected at the end of February advice is being sought for Scottish educational institutions. First Minister. I thank Liz Smith for raising those concerns and for the way in which she has done it. As the counter-terrorism and security bill is currently drafted, it requires specified authorities such as further and higher education institutions to have, and I quote, due regard to the need to prevent people from becoming drawn into terrorism. There will be statutory guidance to those authorities in how they might exercise this duty. It is vitally important—this was a point that I raised at the last meeting of the joint ministerial committee—that this legislation is appropriate and proportionate to Scottish circumstances. Therefore, we are working closely with the UK Government to draft this guidance specifically for authorities in Scotland. Officials are linking closely with our stakeholders, including universities, in ensuring that the draft guidance is fit for purpose. I hope that that gives Liz Smith the reassurance that she was looking for. Obviously, this is a matter in which the Government will keep Parliament updated as appropriate. In terms of anticipating preventing terrorism, in terms of the Regulation and Investigative Powers Act 2000, application can be made for warrant by intelligence services to intercept communications. What co-operation is there between the UK and the Scottish Government in this regard, which, together with other legislation, does the First Minister consider that it is sufficient without even further legislation on those matters? As the member is no doubt aware, all applications to intercept communications on national security grounds are a matter for the relevant Secretary of State within the UK Government, so there would be no routine co-operation on those particular decisions. I am sure that the Justice Secretary would be happy to meet Christine Grahame to discuss how the decisions are taken and the various issues that are divided between devolved responsibility and reserved responsibility. If that is of interest to Christine Grahame, I am sure that Michael Matheson would be happy to accommodate him.