BANFFSHIRE and BUCHAN COAST Liberal Democrats

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today called on the Scottish Government to review its guidance on what type of masks are issued to healthcare workers after being contacted by staff. They believe the current surgical masks do not afford adequate protection when caring for positive or suspected positive Covid patients.

Responding to the First Minister's address to the SNP conference, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

"The First Minister has put independence first.

"Everything else that needs to be done in Scotland, the mammoth task of recovery in front of us, all of that will have to wait for years in the queue behind another referendum.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called on the Scottish Government to make use of the "colossal" Scotland Cares volunteer database to tackle loneliness across Scotland this winter.

He stressed that staying apart and indoors for months has been "an incredibly isolating experience" for thousands of people who would benefit from check-in calls and safe, friendly contact.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have today called on the Transport Secretary to "hammer home" to the DVSA that they should not be dispatching driving examiners from their usual centres in level four areas to conduct tests in other areas of Scotland, after staff contacted the party to raise concerns over the practice.

Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Liz Barrett "stormed to victory" today in the Perth City South by-election. Party leader Willie Rennie said the "fantastic win", beating the SNP from third place, shows the momentum behind Lib Dem ahead of next year's Holyrood elections.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie added:

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today called on the Scottish Government to deliver a fresh plan to enable "compassionate" care home visits in the face of horrifying accounts from families.

The warnings were collected by campaign group Care Home Relatives Scotland and passed to Mr Rennie. A survey undertaken by the group warns:

Scottish Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Beatrice Wishart has criticised the announcement by the Education Secretary that an OECD review of Scottish education will not report at all before next year's Scottish Parliament election.

In September 2020, John Swinney confirmed he would be "very happy" to discuss the possibility of producing an interim report with the OECD. However, there was no mention of such a report in today's announcement. The OECD's review into Curriculum for Excellence is due to be published in June 2021.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Beatrice Wishart, who sits on Holyrood's Covid committee, has today called for Scotland's travel operators to appear before the committee as part of a move to ensure "comprehensive safety plans" are in place for travel over the festive period. The calls come after Cabinet Secretary Mike Russell was unable to guarantee plans were in place to prevent travel bottlenecks over the 5-day Christmas window.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has called for a "reality check" in Scottish Government thinking about the mental health crisis, as Police Scotland issue a stark warning about their capacity to deal with demand heading into this winter.

During today's SPA Board meeting, DCC Will Kerr responded to questions about the likely demand over the coming months. He said that already, the "level of demand has outstripped capacity and [Police Scotland's] professional ability to deal with it."