Money matters on timetable

John Knox Political reporter, BBC Scotland

Paisley teachers have complained about education cuts

Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Labour leader, brought an astonishing letter to parliament this week.

It was signed by 80 members of staff at Paisley Grammar School and expressed "a growing sense of outrage and disbelief at the effect the cuts to the education budget are having on our school".

It talks of growing class sizes; up to 33 pupils for PE.

Advanced Highers in chemistry, physics and English are no longer being offered.

All learning support teachers are being declared surplus to requirements.

There are insufficient funds to buy books.

"The SNP boasts of record funding for councils this year," said Wendy Alexander at first minister's question time.

"So why do teachers, their unions and Scotland's directors of education all agree that most councils will suffer education cuts this year?"

Unfortunately Alex Johnstone described London as "the nation's capital city", which rather spoilt the fun for the SNP

In reply, Alex Salmond listed a long line of councils where he said there are no education cuts .... Fife, West Lothian, Stirling, East Ayrshire and even Labour-controlled South Lanarkshire.

Overall, Scotland's councils had been given a record �34bn over the next three years, an increase of 13%.

Lots to mull over for the main teaching union, the EIS, as it holds its conference in Dundee this weekend.

The Liberal Democrats joined the cuts chorus with a claim that the Glasgow Science Centre had suffered a cut in its annual funding from �1.7m to �1.4m.

"It was promised a bright future," said Nicol Stephen.

"Will the first minister tell us who else has been promised a bright future, so that they can check their wallets now, before it's too late!"

The Glasgow Science Centre had its annual funding cut

Mr Salmond said long term funding was being discussed with the four science centres in Scotland.

It was explained later that, though Glasgow's grant may have been reduced, it still gets the lion's share and funding was linked to visitor numbers.

It became more obvious as the week went on that Scottish politics was coming down to a single issue, money.

Funding for councils, funding for nations.

Alex Salmond wrote to Gordon Brown and the Chancellor Alistair Darling, calling on them to set up a Scottish oil fund.

He wants Scotland's share of the oil revenue bonanza, i.e. 10% of the estimated �4.4bn, to be set aside as an investment fund for the future, rather like Norway has done.

He said this should be over and above the cuts in fuel duty, called for this week by hauliers, farmers and fishermen demonstrating in London.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary John Swinney has been struggling to persuade parliament that his Scottish Futures Trust can finance the �14bn of investment in schools, hospitals, railways and bridges planned over the next three years.

His efforts succeeded. When the final vote came in, the SNP motion was agreed by 66 votes to 54.

Scaremongering

There were two other successes for the government. The health secretary Nicola Sturgeon's statement on the crisis in the ambulance service was warmly applauded.

She ruled out any attempt to introduce single-manning. And she made it clear "bullying and intimidation" by management would not be tolerated.

The chief executive and operations manager of the service are currently on leave while there's an investigation into allegations of bullying.

And the drugs minister Fergus Ewing won approval for his new strategy of "recovery" rather than "stabilisation" of the 50,000 drug addicts in Scotland.

In both cases however, Labour MSPs wondered if the resources were in place to make the new policies work.

Mr Salmond said a new fast rail link to London "might be a really good idea".

They had similar misgivings about a new formula for distributing funds to health boards. But Ms Sturgeon told them to stop "scaremongering".

She said no health board would have its budget actually reduced. But increased funding would be more "tailored" to need.

The Conservatives enjoyed two modest successes this week. Annabel Goldie has placed the plight of those suffering from thrombosis on the political agenda.

At question time she told the first minister that "thrombosis is responsible for over 12,000 deaths a year in Scotland, four times the combined total of all those who die from breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and road traffic accidents".

She called for a national screening programme and for a greater awareness of the illness in the health service and among the public at large.

Mr Salmond made sympathetic noises and offered talks on "health service priorities".

He also accepted that an idea tucked away in the Conservative manifesto, a new fast rail link to London, "might be a really good idea".

Unfortunately Alex Johnstone, who raised the point, described London as "the nation's capital city", which rather spoilt the fun for the SNP.

Long walk

Finally, I must tell you about Balwant Singh Grewal.

He's 72, fit and strong as a Gurkha, and he's walking all the way from the Scottish Parliament to the London parliament in aid of bowel cancer research. He's already walked the full length of India, again to raise money for cancer research.

"Give my greetings to Scotland," he beamed as he set out on his latest journey. Health Minister Shona Robison cut the ribbon, the drummer drummed, fellow members of the India Association cheered him on the way.

"I came to Britain as a student a long, long time ago, when I was 21," said Mr Grewal, (he likes to be called "Bobby").

"I was unable to continue my studies so I worked hard in business like any other immigrant and now walking and running and doing voluntary work are my passions."

A bow of the red turban and he was gone. Five weeks it will take him to walk the 500 miles to London. I envy him his carbon footprint.

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