BANFFSHIRE and BUCHAN COAST Liberal Democrats

Responding to the First Minister's interview with the BBC this evening, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"The depressing thing about every Nicola Sturgeon interview is how obvious it is that she cares more about breaking up our family of nations than she does about your parent's operation, your partner's job or your child's education.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie has today said the SNP are failing to provide flexibility for families as a new report revealed that the number of childminders in Scotland had fallen by over a quarter in the past five years.

An independent report, published by the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA), has found that "national and local implementation of the Scottish Government's policy of providing parents of pre-school children with 1140 hours of funded/free childcare has largely failed Scotland's childminding workforce - which has declined by over 26% (1457 childminders) in the last five years."

Marking this year's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have called for new measures to end gender-based violence.

After the murder of Sarah Everard, Scottish Liberal Democrats urged the government to establish a Commission to look at specific measures to prevent violence against women and girls in all its forms. While the Government had initially shown interest, they have not taken this forward.

Responding to​ new embargoed research conducted by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland that shows almost eight in 10 people think demand for mental health services will increase after the pandemic is over, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for more funding for mental health and fresh resources to deliver local and accessible mental health support in all parts of Scotland.

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has welcomed news today that the UK government has reversed course to allow a ringfenced £20m pot of investment into tidal stream renewables in the upcoming Contract for Difference funding round.

Following intensive efforts by the industry - with support from Mr Carmichael who also led a cross-party letter to the Prime Minister earlier this month - the government has agreed today to a £20m pot for wave and tidal energy in the CfD auctions, which has been welcomed by business leaders. The investment is seen as vital to take tidal stream energy to the next stage of full commercial rollout, which could allow for a range of jobs and green growth in the isles and across the country.

Responding to the Health Secretary's comments on GMS in which he admitted recovery from the pandemic would take years rather than months, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"The Health Secretary should admit that he had previously underestimated the scale of the challenge and that the present NHS recovery plan is not up to scratch.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today claimed the SNP Government has lost its way on education.

His comments come after the Education Secretary announced proposals to "fiddle" with the Challenge Schools fund and indicated that the poverty related attainment gap was about to get wider.

Scottish Liberal Democrat drugs emergency spokesperson Ben Lawrie has today questioned why police resources are wasted on tackling cannabis possession rather than targeting other serious crimes and criminal organisations, as new figures published by Police Scotland today revealed that in 2019-20 there were 12,400 cannabis drug possession crimes, more than every other drug combined.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's statement from the First Minister in which she is expected to set out an expansion of Covid ID cards, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton urged the government to ditch the "unworkable" scheme and demanded a full parliamentary vote on any further expansion before it comes into force.