Results 1-20 of 6,962 for speaker:Alex Salmond

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Engagements (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Later today, I will have meetings to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland.

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Engagements (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: That is the target. I have to say that we did not expect in 2007 that the GDP of the United Kingdom would go into sharp decline—I do not think that anybody anticipated it. I certainly know that the then Chancellor of the Exchequer did not anticipate it, because he told us that he had "abolished boom and bust". In fact, he abolished just the boom bit. Nonetheless, we should be encouraged...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Engagements (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Let us just tackle this nonsense and the argument that we are enduring a deeper recession than the rest of the United Kingdom. It is simply not true. From the first part of 2008, when the recession started in the UK, the decline in Scottish domestic product—gross value added—is slightly less than that of the UK as a whole. I do not claim that as a triumph, because it is the...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Engagements (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: I do not claim what has happened to the construction industry as an enormous success. It has had one of the heaviest falls in its output in history, but let us look at the exact figures. The Scottish construction industry has declined by 6.3 per cent. That is a savage decline, but that is with the Scottish Futures Trust coming in at present. The exactly comparable figure for the UK...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Engagements (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: I think Iain Gray went on a bit long in that answer, but let me be generous and welcome Willie Bain to our proceedings and congratulate him on his success in Glasgow North East. I hope that he is not one of those people who go for a dual mandate in various Parliaments—[ Interruption. ]

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Engagements (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: I have a good memory and I remember welcoming with equal generosity the victor of the Glenrothes by-election to our proceedings just a year ago. I also remember Iain Gray being incredibly enthusiastic about that by-election victory. Six months later, the Scottish National Party wiped the floor with Labour in an election across Scotland—the European election—by a margin of 10 per...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Prime Minister (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: I have no plans to meet the Prime Minister in the near future.

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Prime Minister (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Several hundred thousand children in Scotland live in relative poverty. I will certainly investigate the malnutrition figures and try to reconcile the different figures that Annabel Goldie has given. Both the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government are committed to ending child poverty throughout the UK and Scotland. Of course, many of the instruments by which that can be...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Prime Minister (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: I will certainly examine any constructive suggestions. On the specific case that Annabel Goldie mentioned, I know that the Deputy First Minister has written to Jackson Carlaw—who I think raised the issue as the area MSP—to point out that the practice in question has a vacant position. I will certainly look at any constructive suggestions, whether from Annabel Goldie or from any...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Cabinet (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: The next meeting of the Cabinet will discuss issues of importance to the people of Scotland.

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Cabinet (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: The previous Administration set the terms and conditions of the vast majority of agencies and quangos in Scotland. I am trying to remember; Tavish Scott was not Deputy First Minister in the previous Administration, but I think that he was a minister in it. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, has made clear, both to the Parliament's committees and more...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Cabinet (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: On leadership from the top, last year, Scottish ministers proposed and accepted—all of us—a pay freeze. I do not recall Tavish Scott or his MSPs reciprocating that to any extent. Indeed, Mike Rumbles thought that the suggestion was ridiculous. That was done and it set an example. John Swinney has already dealt with quango bonuses. I have two things to say to Tavish Scott.

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Cabinet (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: I am answering it. I remind Tavish Scott that bonuses were set and settlements were made by a Labour-Liberal Administration in Scotland. I do not accept the Liberal Democrat party's proposition that the solution to this country's economic problems is to freeze the wages of people across the public sector. Every nurse and every policeman in Scotland would be a casualty of that Liberal Democrat...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Cabinet (Meetings) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: In his statement, Fergus Ewing set out the range of activities that are taking place and the range of organisations that campaign and work daily against sectarianism in Scotland. All members should embrace that cause. I deprecate any attempt to take the battle against sectarianism into the party-political arena in Scotland. Therefore, we will discuss with our partners in the Convention of...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Commonwealth Games 2014 (Support) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Earlier this week, the Glasgow 2014 organising committee announced an increase in the overall budget for the games. The additional budget was required mainly in response to an increase in broadcasting costs and the need to set aside a greater contingency fund. The new games budget is still only one 20 th of the public funding that is being provided for the 2012 Olympics. The Scottish...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Commonwealth Games 2014 (Support) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government are co-operating fully on delivering the Commonwealth games for Scotland, as we demonstrated at a press conference in Glasgow on Monday. Nonetheless, I thank Bob Doris for his question and the points to which he has drawn attention. I find it disappointing that Jim Murphy and Gerry Sutcliffe cancelled the meeting with the Minister for Public...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Commonwealth Games 2014 (Support) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: What was announced on Monday was the result of many months of careful work. I have every confidence—as has Glasgow City Council—in the audit that has been done of the expenditure that needs to be devoted to the games. Some people have argued that the broadcasting costs should have been better anticipated—I saw that argument deployed in one of our newspapers. The Government...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Commonwealth Games 2014 (Support) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: There are two aspects: there is a contingency fund of £80 million, which has received a £48 million increase as a result of the announcements on Monday, and there is a reserve fund of £20 million beyond that. The reserve fund is the only part of the funding that does not ascribe to the formula of 80 per cent coming from the Scottish Government and 20 per cent coming from...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Commonwealth Games 2014 (Support) (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Margaret Curran's view is not shared by the Commonwealth Games Federation, which pointed out that the project was not an integral part of either the games bid or their successful delivery. Now that the smoke of by-election has cleared, I hope that even the constituency member will somehow concede that the billions of pounds of infrastructure investment that is now being made in and around...

Scottish Parliament: First Minister's Question Time: Custodial Sentences (19 Nov 2009)

Rt Hon Alex Salmond: Custodial sentences of six months or less are simply not working and do little to stop offending behaviour. Indeed, the Justice Committee itself acknowledges that short sentences "have limited effect as a deterrent". The figures show that three quarters of those who are released from short sentences go on to reoffend within two years of getting out. In contrast, three out of five people who...