Keith Raffan: Thank you, Mr Deputy Presiding Officer. I rise to support Donald Gorrie's reasonable and sensible amendment. There have been some passionate performances today, not least from my friend Mr Russell, but I do not want to compete with him on this occasion. We must consider the issue of the Parliament building rationally. The First Minister's speech raised more questions than it answered. He...
Keith Raffan: No, I do not have time. The First Minister made a crucial point about the design when he said that the floor space had increased by 44 per cent since Mr Miralles's original design. Any architect who has followed the development of the design will say that Miralles's original design has changed radically. That, too, raises concerns. On the quality of the building, Mr Quinan mentioned its...
Keith Raffan: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the provision of drug treatment programmes in Scotland in the next year. (S1O-8)
Keith Raffan: Does the minister share my serious concern-and that of members from all parties-about the shortage of treatment programmes in Scotland, particularly in certain health board areas such as Fife and Forth Valley, in my constituency of Mid Scotland and Fife? Does she share my concern about the shortage of residential rehabilitation beds? There are only 10 residential treatment centres in...
Keith Raffan: The minister's reply causes me slight concern. There is a need for the reallocation of resources in the total budget to tackle drug misuse.
Keith Raffan: Is Susan Deacon committed to a reallocation of resources from prevention, detection and the courts to treatment and rehabilitation, which has by far the smaller share of the budget at the moment?
Keith Raffan: I have listened with interest to Nicola Sturgeon's diatribe against PFI. Perhaps she could explain why Perth and Kinross Council, when it was under SNP control, indulged in a PFI project-the council's office accommodation-and why Angus Council, which is still under SNP control, has also gone ahead with a local PFI project. The SNP cannot have its cake and eat it.
Keith Raffan: Will Mr Gibson give way?
Keith Raffan: Will Mr Gibson give way?
Keith Raffan: I was sure that he would not.
Keith Raffan: Mr Gibson cannot launch a diatribe against PPP, of which PFI is a part-I will inform him of that since he does not seem to know the difference-in the Parliament and at the same time say that the SNP is forced to use PFI on the ground. The SNP is saying one thing in this chamber and doing a different thing in local government. They cannot get away with that.
Keith Raffan: In view of Mr Gibson's concluding remarks, I will start with a quotation from Mr Alf Young in The Herald , referring to Balfron High School in my regional constituency of Mid Scotland and Fife. He said: "If we were to wait for the local authority to replace our overcrowded, worn-out school from its own financial resources, we could still be waiting in 2020. If we want our kids educated in...
Keith Raffan: I will in a second, because Mr Gibson gave way to me. However, I will make this point first. The SNP must learn that the duty of the Opposition is not just to oppose, but to propose. Today, SNP members have not gone into detail about their Scottish public service trusts in any of their speeches, least of all in Ms Sturgeon's deplorable effort when opening the debate. She barely gave that...
Keith Raffan: As Alf Young rightly says, PFI is "the only game in town." What the SNP cannot get away with in this chamber is to launch this extraordinary rhetorical diatribe against PFI, while SNP-controlled local authorities are taking advantage of PFI.
Keith Raffan: I will gladly give way to Ms Sturgeon if she resumes her seat and does not get too excited. I will give way to her in a minute. The point is that today the SNP is saying one thing in the chamber while it is doing another on the ground, in local government. It cannot get away with that. If members of the SNP had lodged a more measured motion today, which made constructive proposals on PFI and...
Keith Raffan: We can all play the game of selective quotation, as I pointed out last week. I have the manifesto, and I will happily quote long sections of it to Ms Sturgeon. It said: "We need a private public partnership which leads to more cost effective public sector investment strategy." That is absolutely right. I will make points in my speech about the way in which we are working together with the...
Keith Raffan: I am replying to Ms Sturgeon's point. The swot can wait; we know that he is good at figures, but he does not always know what to do with them. As a party, we will also seek the appropriate alteration of the current unnecessarily restrictive Treasury rules on investment. That is part of macro-economic policy, which is reserved to Westminster. We have also made proposals on community...
Keith Raffan: There is a whole column in our manifesto, and I will gladly send it to Mr Wilson afterwards. Mr Wilson cannot get away with what he said about the Bank of Scotland. The Bank of Scotland said that the SNP proposal was "not feasible" and was "unworkable as it stands". The SNP has not developed its policy since February. SNP members have come to the chamber today to attack the Executive. If the...
Keith Raffan: Hang on a second. [Interruption.] We have to examine the policy in the Finance Committee and examine particular projects in the Audit Committee. This is a committee-oriented Parliament, and that is the way in which we can play a constructive role in the development of PFI policy.
Keith Raffan: I am all for transparency and I am all for openness. From what I have heard-and I listened closely to the minister-he supports that as well. Transparency I want; it is the SNP's diatribe and rhetoric that I am not having anything to do with. This is a complex and important issue, and the SNP has yet to explain its policy. The crucial point is that partnerships between the private and public...
