5 Most Recent News Stories

Government must improve support for children in residential care

5.25.36pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Sep 2010

Commenting on an Audit Scotland report on children in residential care, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Education and Young People Margaret Smith MSP said:

“The most vulnerable in society do not always get the support they need.

“The life chances for children in residential care can be very poor, so it is imperative that the Government does everything it can to improve the care they receive.

“They can start by speeding up progress on the planned reforms to outcomes for looked after children and by accepting the recommendations in this Audit Scotland report.”

SFT savings are simply laughable

5.23.53pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Sep 2010

Commenting on the Scottish Futures Trust’s statement of benefits, Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis MSP said:

“If the Scottish Futures Trust spent the same amount of time building infrastructure than it does promoting its own inflated and laughable claims on “savings” then it wouldn’t be so bad.

“SFT claims Borders Rail as one of its top ten achievements. But it’s costing £100 million more today that it did in 2007 and has been delayed by 3 years. That’s some achievement. Presumably its claim that is has saved £68 million on schools is based on the fact that if you don’t build them, you don’t spend the money.

“The more the SNP Government tries to promote the failed SFT the more embarrassing it becomes.

“People in the Borders don’t want a puffed up press release, they want their railway built. Parents across Scotland who live in communities that aren’t going to get a new school because of the fiasco of the non-school building programme don’t want to hear this.

“The SNP Government is running out of time, and the SFT is running out of excuses.”

Unit price should have been announced much earlier

5.21.44pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Sep 2010

Commenting ahead of Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement on her proposed minimum unit price on alcohol, Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson Robert Brown MSP said:

“A lot of time and trouble would have been saved if the SNP Government had announced the unit price at a much earlier stage than this.

“This would have allowed any implications to be properly examined by the Health Committee.

“The factor that Nicola Sturgeon has wilfully overlooked is the advent of the new coalition government which is considering proposals for a UK wide alcohol pricing solution.

“The SNP have taken a narrow view of the whole process, totally ignoring much more effective solutions that would cover the whole of the country.

“They clearly prefer a pricing mechanism that stops artificially at the border.”

Purvis: standard life job losses a blow to recovery

5.21.11pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Sep 2010

Commenting as 500 job losses were announced by Standard Life today, Liberal Democrat Finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis MSP said:

“This is a blow to what was hoped could have been a strong recovery for the Scottish financial services sector.

“It is imperative that the Financial Sector Jobs Taskforce that we fought hard to get established is convened to ensure all of the support available can be offered to the affected staff.”

McArthur welcomes Ofgem energy investigation

5.19.19pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Sep 2010

Commenting on the announcement that Ofgem will investigate energy sales practices by the “Big Six” suppliers, Liberal Democrat Energy spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

“I’m pleased to see Ofgem launching this investigation.

“As the price of energy continues to climb, it’s more important than ever that it’s straightforward for customers to get the best possible deal.

“Many Scottish households are still reeling from the recession and the onset of winter means fuel poverty misery for many.”

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