Scotland has a world-class higher education sector. We currently have five universities in the top 200 in the world, and each year, students from around 200 nations choose to come to our institutions to study. It is our belief that a child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending one of our great universities. I am also clear that widening access is not just about access to freshers fare, to graduation day and beyond. Ensuring that students from the most deprived areas of Scotland are supported to achieve their aspirations into, through and beyond higher education is at the core of that. Those end goals of graduation and positive destinations are central to our thinking as we move forward in the delivery of the commission on widening access recommendations and are a key focus and a priority for the Government going forward. Setting out her first programme for government, the First Minister made a crucial commitment, telling this chamber that our task was to ensure that a child born today in one of our most deprived communities has no less chance of going to university than a child born in one of our least deprived communities. She did so because we believe that education is by far the most effective means that we have to improve the life chances and deliver the best possible outcomes for everyone. We have enshrined the principle of widening access in legislation, placing it at the core of what we expect from post-16 institutions and the Scottish Funding Council. We continue to invest £51 million each year to support places for access students and those transferring from college into university. We established the commission on widening access in 2015 and accepted its recommendations in full. Since the publication of the blueprint for fairness in 2016, we have embedded our targets within university outcome agreements, introduced a full non-repayable bursary of £7,625 for young care experience students and established an access delivery group to oversee delivery. To support that work going forward, we have provided universities with a real-terms budget increase of 1.9 per cent and we are making progress. In December, UCAS reported that Scotland reached a new record for the number of acceptancies, the only part of the UK to see an increase. Within that, the acceptance rates for 18-year-olds also reached a record increasing for the third year in a row. More significantly, UCAS reported a record rise in 18-year-olds from our most deprived communities being accepted. In total, there was a 13 per cent increase in the number of Scots from the most deprived communities getting places to study at a Scottish university. That means that more than 600 additional people from the most deprived communities are being accepted to study at university. We have a record number of Scots going to university and a record number of Scots from the most deprived communities going to university. That is progress. Sitting behind that progress is a change in perception. We are eating away at the idea that university is not something that any child with an ability can achieve. Just last month, UCAS revealed, and I quote, Scottish 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged areas are 67 per cent more likely to apply in 2018 than 12 years ago. We must maintain and, indeed, quicken the pace of change. As an independent commissioner, Sir Peter Scott's voice and the challenge he has provided to all of us is crucial, not only by providing a fresh perspective on the issues that are central to this agenda but also in continuing to drive forward change. I would like to thank Sir Peter for his work over the year. He has established the role of commissioner as one that provides a significant contribution to access in Scotland. That statement provides an opportunity today for me to respond to the commissioner's first annual report. The majority of the commissioner's recommendations relate to areas that we are already driving forward as a result of the commissioner's widening access. He has provided valuable advice on implementation and he has encouraged bolder steps to be taken by the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council and, in his words, most institutions. I would first like to respond to the commissioner's call for the Government to make clearer its priorities with regard to our targets and ambitions for access. That Government recognises that Scotland's colleges are a key part of our higher education system. They play a crucial and valued role in widening access. Collegies often provide the first step into further and higher education, and while a valued place of study in their own right, they can also be a stepping stone on to degree level study at university. However, we are also clear that students from the most deprived backgrounds are well represented within colleges. It is within our universities where the greatest inequalities lie. I am therefore clear that we will continue to prioritise access to university within our work and our targets for fair access. Let me reiterate once again, no matter their background or circumstances, an applicant should have an equal chance of going to university by 2030. When we talk about fair access to university, I do not just mean some universities. We expect every university to take action now to ensure that by 2021, 10 per cent of entrance to each university are from Scotland's 20 per cent most deprived backgrounds. Through the delivery group, I believe that we will continue to see progress towards meeting those targets, but members should be assured that I will look to the funding council to use the outcome agreements process to ensure that delivery is achieved. I must also make it clear that our targets are for learners of all ages. Adult students from similar backgrounds should and will be given the same priority as school leavers within our work on fair access. The framework for fair access will identify the best methods to support adult learners into higher education. I expect learners of all ages to be considered within work to develop a more co-ordinated approach to access across Scotland. My vision is often efficient and flexible tertiary education system within Scotland, a system that supports all learners to succeed. Our work on the learner journey is examining how we can better connect the different parts of our education system and how we can ensure that learners' previous education is recognised fairly. I welcome the commissioner's recommendations on those areas and his insights into how such a system can better support learners from our most disadvantaged communities. As we take forward our work on the learner journey, we will take account of the commissioner's recommendations on improving the importance of access within the learner journey, the need to make more imaginative use of first year at university, option for learners with advanced hires to go directly into second year at university should they wish to do so. The commissioner also made recommendations on articulation, contextualised admissions and bridging programmes, which I fully support. While universities have committed to taking action on all those points, we need further clarity on when the changes will occur. In each of those areas, universities need to pick up the pace of change on implementation. I welcome the very detailed work that has been put into the development of implementation plans by lead delivery partners in all those areas, and those will be discussed at the next meeting of the Access Delivery Group. However, as with the overall and institutional targets that I mentioned earlier, I will look to the funding council to further intensify its work in those areas if required. I fully accept the commissioner's recommendations for the Scottish funding council. The Government recognises the pivotal role that the funding council must play if we are to deliver fair access. I wrote to the chair of the funding council on October last year to set out my expectations and ambitions for the 2018-19 outcome agreements, and I have made clear in recent discussions with the funding council the way in which I expect them to lead and to co-ordinate delivery of a number of recommendations from the commission on widening access. The commissioner asked the Scottish Government to consider any savings produced by a reduction in demand for places from EU students. We will take future decisions on the higher education budget as part of our annual budgetary process, but for anyone in the sector who may be thinking that there is a shortcut to achieving our targets through a drop in demand elsewhere, then let me be very clear. There is no shortcut, there is no silver bullet, widening access will require systemic change. The targets and the timescales that we have all accepted from the commission on widening access will not be delivered in any other way. I also note the commissioner's recommendations around an increase in funded places. I fully understand why that recommendation has been made and we will continue to consider its merits. We are conscious, however, that ultimately we are engaged in reforming the system and that is best achieved by the fairer distribution of publicly funded opportunities. In the end, widening access will be achieved by building a fairer system rather than continually expanding an unfair system. Our ambition is for equality throughout that system, equality not just in access but also in completing and succeeding in their studies. Equality in the jobs that access graduates can enter once they have finished their degrees and an equal chance for them and their children to succeed. Only then can we create a fairer Scotland. Presiding Officer, I thank the minister for early sight. I would like to pursue three areas of questions, if I may. First, Sir Peter Scott said last week at committee, and he stated in his recommendations, and I quote, The fixed cap inevitably raises concerns that the drive to recruit more students from SIMD-20 background may reduce opportunities for other students, and that was a point that was reiterated by Audit Scotland. That is a hugely important point for the wider picture about university entrance and university funding. Can I ask the minister to tell us today whether the Scottish Government is minded to amend the current structure of funded places? Will the minister explain exactly what she means when she says in her concluding remarks that there will be no shortcut to achieving the Scottish Government's targets if there is a drop in demand for places from elsewhere? That answer is also crucial for the sector. Secondly, our universities are particularly interested in what Sir Peter has had to say about debating what constitutes academic excellence and the high standards that have traditionally been the hallmark of the Scottish sector. They are wanting to know whether, in the context of widening access, the traditional measures of academic excellence and success will be challenged. What is the Scottish Government's response to that? That, again, is a crucial question. Finally, can the Scottish Government tell us the timescale by which the universities can expect to receive up-to-date figures on the higher achievement levels of school leavers by the end of S6, equivalent to that published by Vicky Bollinver's research, to inform their commitment to set minimum entry levels for SIMD-20 students? On the aspects around displacement, as I mentioned in my statement, I recognise that that is a concern from some people. I would point Liz Smith to the fact that the commissioner himself has said that the available data on this is suggestive rather than conclusive, so there is a fear of displacement, but it is not proven within the statistics that we have had. Indeed, as I mentioned in my statement, we have seen a 13 per cent increase in the number of students from the most deprived communities except to the university. At the same time, we have seen an overall increase in the total number of Scottish students in the university, so I think that that is something that we can both welcome. I mentioned that there is no shortcut when it comes to EU students or anything else for that matter, because what I do not want us to get into a frame of mind about is that we will somehow cure widening access by hoping that enough places will become available when something that we do not want to happen in Brexit will lead to changes in demand. I do not want universities to sit by and hope and assume that they will get enough widening access to students in because something else will happen, and we do not know the scale and extent of that. We need to see systemic change to encourage those from the private communities from coming forward. I listened to Sir Peter Scott's evidence to the committee and his discussions around success. Again, as I mentioned in my statement, I want to ensure that we are looking at successful outcomes from those who go into widening access places. By successful outcomes, I mean graduation day and a good job at the end of it. I appreciate that Sir Peter Scott discussed with the committee about changes to how a student can perhaps get from one year to another in looking at whether the system needs to be more flexible. That is for universities to look into, but when we are looking at what success is, success is a degree and a good degree at the end of your time at university. That is why we are talking about not just getting into university but also from graduation days. I have committed to university Scotland to work with them to ensure that they have information on aspects to do with what happens in individual schools and academic achievement. However, I think that the commissioner made that point as well, universities do not need that information to set minimum entry requirements. Those are based on what you need as a student to get through and succeed in your degree. Universities do not need that information. It may prove useful for them in other avenues that they are intending to do, but they need to get on with the job of moving on with contextualised admissions and minimum entry requirements. We cannot afford to wait another year for another round of data and to see another year of students not getting access to the universities that they should have. The minister knows that we on those benches support her aims of widening access to higher education in general and to universities in particular. As we have made progress, it is very welcome. However, what is especially welcome today is the minister's assertion, which she just repeated, that this is not just about access to freshers' fare but to graduation day and beyond. Living and surviving at university is important as well as getting there in the first instance. That is why those full non-repayable bursaries are so important for care-experienced students. However, surely the minister can see that access to non-repayable bursaries and grants to live-on while studying are also critical to young people from deprived backgrounds considering university because they too will not be able to turn to their families for financial help. Will she then commit to restoring the cuts that are made to grants and shifting the balance between grants and loans for living back towards grants for those students from low-income backgrounds? I begin by the fact that Iain Gray and I agree on something. I think that that does not often happen when we are doing statements. It is very important that we recognise the importance of graduation day and beyond. I will take that and the consensual part of your comments. The review of student support, as Iain Gray well knows, was reported at the end of last year. The Government is due to report back on our conclusions about those recommendations soon. We are looking very seriously at all aspects of the student support, including bursaries. I hope that Iain Gray can take some assurance from the fact that the work that officials are doing with the recommendations that came from that review is based on the first principle of ensuring that those from our most deprived communities get the support that they require to get through university. That is the first principle that we are looking at when we are looking at all the recommendations and all the areas in which the review has asked us to do further investigation. I will call Ruth Maguire to be followed by Oliver Mundell. Just to remind members, I give the opening speakers from each Labour and Conservative parties' dispensation to make a few remarks to outline their party position. That dispensation does not apply to everybody else, unfortunately. That means that the rest have to just ask questions and they will get a quick answer and we will get through everybody. Ruth Maguire. Does the minister agree that whatever barriers people face before they get to university, they do not simply disappear the second they get a place? With students from disadvantaged or non-traditional backgrounds less likely to stay until second year, more likely to obtain a general degree rather than honours, and less likely to get a first or a two-one, what does the Scottish Government do to encourage universities to attach higher priority to retention and success and achievement in the context of widening access? Will the Scottish Funding Council's Widing Access and Attention Fund provide £14.7 million of funding in 2017-18 to help students remain in higher education? That is allocated to universities that are the highest intake of access students. We are also ensuring that we use the outcome agreements process to encourage universities to set more ambitious and challenging targets for access. They also have to agree improvements in their attention and attainment and outcomes for their students. Our work with the Funding Council to intensify that outcome agreement process is ensuring that we look not just at entry into university but also to retention and attainment as well. Oliver Mundell to be followed by Jenkel Ruth. Can I ask the minister in the context of recommendations 17 and 18 in Sir Peter's report how the Scottish Government will ensure that pupils from SIMD 20 have more access to advanced higher courses, which will help their chance of taking up more diverse opportunities at university? That is something that we are looking at within our learner journey work that the Scottish Government is currently undertaking. It is very important that we ensure that students at school have opportunities to study and take up opportunities, whether it is at college, university or within apprenticeships, and that they have the opportunity to follow the career in whichever way they so choose. Jenkel Ruth to be followed by Daniel Johnson. Can the minister outline what role our schools and colleges will play in helping to meet the target that is set by the commission on widening access, and would she consider the feasibility of a pilot study that will track the work of St Andrews University as an ancient institution and a local high school in my constituency, where nearly one in three children live in poverty? I am very interested in tracking the progress of all the universities. I can ensure and take a close note of that, but I welcome the work that the new principle of St Andrews is undertaken to give further impetus to the widening access agenda. I made it clear in my statement that colleges play a crucial role in our higher education system and in widening access, but we also need to ensure that we are working with primary and secondary schools, where most of our young people have developed their dreams, ambitions and future lives and careers. We are looking at the approach from a whole systems approach. That is why I am delighted to see that, in the next couple of weeks, we will have a seminar in which regional improvement collaborative leads will come together to discuss what more can be done to develop that whole systems approach. We have Peter McLeod, who sits on our access delivery group, who will be leading that seminar. It is very important that we encourage our young people to develop their dreams and ambitions, regardless of where they will finally achieve that, whether it is employment, college, university and apprentices. I should mention, particularly in this apprenticeship week, that that is an exceptionally important outcome that young people can also take up. Daniel Johnson, to be followed by Ross Greer. The minister in his statement pointed to institutions in the Scottish Funding Council on addressing the issues around articulation and contextualised admission. Given that the fundamental issue there is about differences of approach between institutions, is there not a role for government in bringing forward a harmonised and co-ordinated system? Is that something that the delivery group might look at? Ultimately, the minister surely will agree with me that having a clear view about how youngsters can get to university is ultimately important. I absolutely see that there is a role for government to encourage articulation. Our role certainly within the next few months will be demonstrated when I finalise my letter of guidance that goes to the funding council, which again will look at the intensification of our outcome agreement process. Within that will include our work on articulation. I think that Sir Peter Scott raised very valid points around articulation. I was interested to read his views and to discuss with him last week an assumption that young people should have full articulation rather than their presumption against that. That was a very interesting discussion that I had. I see that there is a role for government. That is through my letter of guidance to the funding council and to put them through their outcome agreements with the different institutions how we will take that on. The member can be assured that we will be discussing that in the access delivery group to see what more can be done by the Government, by the funding council and by every institution. The cost of living of everything from rent to transport remains a barrier to widening access. Current financial support for students from low income backgrounds simply does not cut it. Following Iain Gray's question, can I press the Scottish Government to commit increasing bursaries and to equalising support for university and college students, which is essential to successfully widening access to higher education? As I said to Iain Gray, the Government will be responding to the recommendations of the review of student support in due course. We will be looking at the aspects that were in the review and also looking to see how we need to carry out further investigations that the review asked the Government to do. There were some areas that the review did not look at and they have made clear that they want the Government to then pick that up and investigate certain areas. I would point out that we have put an initial £5 million into the budget for the initial implementation of that and other aspects within the review of student support will require longer implementation if they require, for example, changes to the student's loans company or discussions with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Tavish Scott will be followed by Fulton MacGregor. Can I thank the minister for early sight of her statement as well? Can I also ask her to recognise that vocational routes into work this week in apprenticeship week are everybody's important as a university education given I and no doubt many other colleagues met apprentices in Lerwick and Scalloway yesterday? Can I have a further go on the line of questioning that Iain Gray and Ross Greer have pushed? Would she hope that the review of student support would be in place for the next academic year, and would she be able to give Parliament any details of the timescale that she is working to on that, given that the very students that we are seeking to help here from the most disadvantaged backgrounds appear from some evidence to be the very ones who are seeing more difficult circumstances in terms of the debt burden that they then face? I would absolutely reiterate once again that it is important that we encourage young people to take the destination after school that is right for them. Universities, colleges, directly into employment or apprenticeships are all equally valid and valued opportunities for our young people, so the Government's commitment to ensuring widening access for university should by no means be read as a sign that university is the right aspect for a young person to choose. It is up to that young person, depending on their ambitions and their careers. I saw the pictures of the member with their apprentices and looked at a thoroughly interesting visit. The review of student support, as I said, looked at a number of different challenges that we have within the student support system. Some of those will be able to be achieved for the next academic year. Others will not. If they require, for example, a change to the student's loans company rulebook, that will require us to look at a longer time period for that. If we did not, if we simply piggybacked on a system, a scheme that is already in place, there may be a disadvantage to that. For example, we would have to join the system that is already in England with a higher interest rate. There are disadvantages to moving fast if, by doing that, you join a system that is detrimental, particularly to those for the poorest backgrounds. That does not mean that the Government is not taking action on that issue. However, we have already taken action to ensure that almost 3,000 additional students are qualified for a non-repayable bursary or saw their funding increase last year due to our decision to raise the income threshold from £17,000 to £19,000. We have confirmed within the programme for government our commitment to raising the repayment threshold for student loans to £22,000 and reducing the repayment period to £30,000, as well as implementing the care experience bursary. We are taking action on that. We will take action for the next financial year where we can, but there will be other aspects of the review of student support that will take longer. In terms of universities accepting young people from more disadvantaged areas, it seems that there is a real disparity between universities. Would the minister agree with me that meeting those ambitious targets that we have set cannot simply be down to the work of just some of our universities and it is time for our older universities to work a bit harder on that? I have made it very clear in my expectations to the sector that, when we talk about widening access to university, I do not just mean some of the universities, I mean to each university. The UCAS figures published in January demonstrate that good progress is being made in widening access with the majority of universities showing an increase in place applicants from deprived areas. However, targets have been set for individual institutions and I am determined that they will all be achieved. People from the most deprived backgrounds should have the same choices as everyone else. I will not get into a position where we are putting a few institutions who are already performing well to pick up the responsibility for delivering the agenda. Every institution can and must play their part in widening access. My apologies. Four members did not get in there, but I am afraid that we have run out of time. We have too many items this afternoon. We move on to the local government finance order. I will take a few moments for members and ministers to change seats.


TLO what's poppin? We are on twitch. We are live But by the time you see this we won't be mad so just leave a like comment subscribe turn on your post notification bells Let's continue to grow the family for Chicago to the UK If we do go live and you happen to miss it go to twitch.com as you can see down here You feel me go to twitch.com try being the lit one as you see it written down here and And Yeah, you can rewind fast for anything with the previous things and things of that nature Don't forget. We do got merch and we do got a patreon the link to all of this is down below in the description Let's get into it man. This is having a shocker This is a documentary It's not the purpose of this documentary is that to glorify not to sensationalize but to learn and See the struggles that go across around the world from my point of view at least well, you know, I'm saying for me That's what I'm looking at this It's a cold winter's night in Bradford Stephen and Niko are trying to order some spice Spice this 2024 Spice is still probably Sonpub, yeah After half an hour of waiting the falling here back from the dealer And how much is that there and I will our longer that last Tonight tonight tonight with a fresh bag of spice in hand the pear tag along with a friend to go to his flat Is this his flat you sure Money Where is your key at sir Did you get evicted or what? I've got I've got a fortune. I like 18 for my station back in the lake me Not my three weeks ago like operation. Okay, you can't kick the door and just move Oh So they bought the track they bought Failing to gain entry to the flat Himself becoming increasingly withdrawn Steven and Niko decide to leave their friend and head back to their tent This is Stephen Niko's mate Jamie has asked me to protect his identity so his face is Some milk yeah, and some weird eggs, and we're gonna eat them all the noodles I can put some jam on my noodles Why he sound like he's been so ungrateful You know I'm saying like I Understand like this is like you don't got no bowl or something or or like but make it happen You making that bag of spice happen You can make a bowl happen a styrofoam ball like this like this would make me mad.  I completely understand your situation and what got you here probably but like at the same time These are people trying to help out like you sound mad ungrateful I will yes, I will eat if I'm hungry. I'm eating the weed a big dry I have some right there to what I have we the big sound on the boxes up there Now is they still good? I don't know Because I'm not me personally I'm not eating we the big without fruit at least I need at least a blueberry or something, but that's me Me and him are not in the same situation, and I do feel for him, but at the same time. I'm whatever's given to me I'm grateful. Thank you My What I would do is I would take the we the bigs and I dip it in the jam And drink some milk So what you gonna do with all this mate There's about two three hundred Massive buildings that are all abandoned, you know, Grenfell Tower Because of the cladding yeah, yeah lots of buildings in Bradford of game cheap cladding So that's so they're all all closed like I will live in in one on hamster That's called that ultimate point. Yeah I loved it. Yeah, I won't take in drugs.  It doesn't sound that bad. I got that it was the worst I've seen in my life So I will put in middle a lot of dealers Drug takers, but like you weren't really living there like you were like squatting there and like Baylifts came and removed them Prostitutes Everything yeah, and I do from a pretty good my mum would she should try to ride this because man are good Yeah, and I've still got into this mad circle. Yeah, and I'm not from this life Yeah, you only started taking smack in the crack last year Yeah, I went to work first I went 29 years without anything and then my nana and granddad have died giving it here Well, we've been mum to each other On any given night three hundred and forty five people are homeless in Bradford including one hundred and forty five children I don't understand how children are homeless anywhere like with this many turnings That's a blur out you to this blurred out No better feeling No better feeling Okay, I mean to each their own Back to differ that there's a better feeling than that All I'll say about Bradford right is spiked and wrecked it in a wreck every other city it gets to You know I got my feet, but I don't believe this I'm a burger. Yeah, this isn't this two Asian guys have moved to Bali. We knew there was something about them They had better course on right nothing in the house else in the house by a plum cord on a stand So is it empty house? Yeah, it was fine. We knew but there were two Asians running it So he's thinking it's a smuggler's or I would drug a drug house or something I'm the only one I've got in the house. What I've got Feeking or a smack. Yeah, and they'll ever cut each right? Yeah, I know the same day the next time you grab with Tag Watch Yeah, and fill me address Geneva.  I mean, I said to me look at that watch son. I said why? You know, I mean I've got for that. Oh, I guess 13,000 That's what you give me and refuse to take two grand of me my dad The situation in Bradford hasn't always been this bleak The city once housed the largest industrial production in the country Salt smell a textiles mill that produce an expo a lot of the cities that used to do like a lot of the manufacturing textile fishing or anything like that. They're all like Down bad because it's like these are dying industries. A lot of people out of work No more money. No more opportunities Factories are closing and it's crazy man. Like a lot of these buildings like I know like it's expensive, but like repurposed them like put something there Businesses don't even want to come step in here no more. That's that bought cloth for countries around the world Was so successful the owner built eight hundred fifty houses for employees Over the years most if not all of the industry has moved abroad or shut down due to safety concerns leaving a lot of families without income What effect has that had on young people?  It's like just full of bad stuff like People who do drugs and stuff and like not very great Oh People getting what rammed and what does that mean?  Yeah? Well, you know what nature calls I mean you could do what you gotta do. They know poor the party ain't nowhere to go like listen I'm not going to hold it in Evacuate simple All right, if you could improve key flea on one way, what would you do get rid of all the junkies? Where would you put them? In a junkie home or in the bit What's the like the worst thing you've seen happen man And you guys personally seen that yeah, and how do you react in those situations? For lads like these Bradford can be quite an unsafe place They're proceed to show me what they carry to defend themselves Yeah Bloody hell and well what would you use that for boss? From these encounters you can start to see the lung-lasting effects of industry leaving the country So I just found the local bus And I'm going to the the most dangerous estate in Bradford. It's called Holmwood and I've read some news articles this morning saying Like it's a no-go area for the police.  I mean ask y'all what the camera But let me turn it on and walk up to y'all act y'all be in like gang stuff here So would you say this like a dangerous area?  So would you say like that that like you guys are in control of this area? Yeah outside for life. Yeah. All right. Yeah, man. I'll jump jump on the back That's as far as it goes Makes for a good vlog though or whatever documentary time When you out and about and you doing stuff videos like this and the locals offer you this type of stuff You got to do it. It's content How much does it think like this cost them bro five and a half grand five and a half grand?   You've never seen anything bad happen. So Like the media said, you know that that gangs on this area and the run a riot and stuff like that They don't okay, and we've also been all people around here and respected by holdings all the people.  Okay, so what I'm not gonna lie I kind of believe them and you gotta like from the outside looking in stuff might be seeming bleak to other people But like that's just like with Chicago like y'all here stuff and they amplify it and they make it sound Way crazier than it is Now don't get me wrong if you in neighborhoods that you're not supposed to be in Around times that you're not supposed to be in there Looking suspicious then of course like like you gotta know your surroundings. Will you and what you doing? but like Why do you think like this the stigma is about about Holmwood? Why do you think it gets a bad rough in the media?  Yeah, they didn't come up here The cat the cat stand talking to you like I'm talking here Yeah, they're scared.  Yeah, right and nothing's happening all around But if they saw you it talked to you. Yeah, he's like last is in there And this Like if you really is out here and doesn't know anybody didn't plan that like Bro and then came up to you talk to you let you ride on the back of the bike like Like I feel like they got beef, but they got beef with who they got beef with and that's it, you know Bradford's a great place to live. Yeah, cuz you get respected Okay, so if you could tell the media one thing, what would you say to him?   Just look at the sky sky's above Maintain to the speed of love it's blessing from above. No way.   So the club is a club in themselves, which knows my fear So he got in the secret intelligence Don't worry. I'm not legal alien We all human beings in a day, we're all we're all children No, so anybody to tell you it's not anybody in general So it was vulnerable and those people by exploiting you on the big foot And I'll know before you come hundred And that's the politicians and the media of life around the world.  I'm joking No, but this is real life in it. Yeah, I saw a lot of people die as a lot of people live Yeah, I'm not not here. Oh, I'm still living on the streets. I love the street Hey, they say he rap more clearly than he taught. That's a fact. Even though I can go to the building back out of the building Because I still feel it's just nice That's where I'll be out on the street. Like all cities did he couldn't even put the clothes caption on the screen He couldn't he ain't know what he was saying either. It's two sides to Bradford the side that you see Bradford is the city of joy And it is home of it from home and the sides that you don't Do you know why people was like leaving the street like this? But unlike other cities the sides are closely intertwined and poverty drugs and violence are just a normal part of the city's life If you'd like to see the uncensored version of this video or support what I'm doing then there's a patreon link in this Right for me man Glad you did this censorship kill a little like comment subscribe Let me know what your opinions there if you live in Bradford and you what your what your views are. I'm gone


More suspense from the Supreme Court with an announcement in the Prop 8 case pushed back to Friday at the earliest. Meanwhile, a setback in a Nevada lawsuit, but now the case goes to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court previously ruled in favor of marriage equality in the Prop 8 case. And with a string of losses and plummeting poll numbers, anti-gay groups are quickly running out of donors. At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume, and welcome to Marriage News Watch for December 3, 2012. Once again, there's no word from the Supreme Court about the Prop 8 case, or the multiple cases involving the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. All of those cases have been reconferenced for this coming Friday, the 7th. That means we may get word the following Monday, December 10. This ongoing suspense is difficult for everyone, but it's particularly agonizing for the thousands of gay and lesbian couples who are waiting to find out whether they can get married. Meanwhile, the wait is nearly over in Maine. This week, the state announced that couples can begin getting marriage licenses on December 29. But there's a catch. While there's no waiting period for marriage in Maine, December 29 is a Saturday. It's unclear whether there will be special hours to accommodate the beginning of marriage, but more details are expected soon. And there's been a temporary setback in Nevada, a federal judge ruled in the Sevchuk vs. Sandoval case that there is a legitimate government interest in limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. And illegal plans to appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit, a court that has proven relatively receptive to marriage equality in the past. Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit upheld a ruling that found Prop 8 to be unconstitutional. Meanwhile, organizers in Illinois are planning a massive field organization. With new offices in Westmount and Springfield, Equality Illinois plans to lobby lawmakers to pass a marriage bill in the coming 2013 session. And new polling in Michigan shows a majority supports the freedom to marry. This continues a trend over the last year and a half in Michigan with support steadily climbing and opposition dropping. That mirrors the trend nationally. A new survey this week from CBS shows 51% of Americans support the freedom to marry with 41% opposed. This is the 18th national survey to show majority support. And that steady climate support isn't just apparent in polling. You can also see it in fundraising, with donors to anti-gay groups growing increasingly scarce. A new investigation by the Human Rights Campaign shows that in 2011, the national organization for marriage had only two major donors, making up 75% of the anti-gay group's budget. In 2011, NOM raised $6.2 million, compared to $9.1 million in 2010. This year, NOM suffered defeat in all four states with marriage on the ballot. We look forward to seeing the effect that their losing streak will have on NOM's ability to retain donors in the future. And we'll be getting news from the Supreme Court any day now. Subscribe here on YouTube and at AFER.org for breaking news alerts on the Prop 8 and DOMA cases. At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume. Thanks for watching.


five times tonight including three hits. What led to your consistency at the play? Just felt good seeing the ball well. A lot of good at bats all around today. Another guy that's been seeing the ball incredibly well to start the season is Aaron Judge. How impressed are you with what he's continued to do? Yeah it's just I mean since I played with him just keeps getting better and better and sky's the limit. I mean there's no telling what the what his numbers are gonna be at the end of the year and not only that what he means to this club as a leader too. What's the confidence like when he steps into the batter's box? I mean you always feel good when he's up yeah it's like I said you know it's it's just a special player and special things can happen every time he steps up there. Your single in the seventh the 1500th hit in your career is that number meaningful to you? I mean yeah it's cool yeah one of those things that you know probably cooler when I look back when I'm done playing but yeah it's cool. And can you just describe the feeling of this team right now now winners of seven in a row you guys have just been rolling to start the season? Yeah just just keep it going no let up and just keep rolling out wins while we're hot. DJ thanks for the time. Alright thank you.