• Energy price rise: “crushing blow” to pensioners worried about having to choose between heating and eating
• New poll shows 1 in 4 Brits have avoided calling an ambulance over fears it would take too long to arrive
• Rennie responds to Accounts Commission Report
• McArthur responds to Scottish Government evidence submission on assisted dying

Energy price rise: “crushing blow” to pensioners worried about having to choose between heating and eating

Responding to the Ofgem energy price cap rise of 10% from £1,568 to £1,717 coming into effect today as Winter Fuel Payments worth between £200 and £300 are being cut for the vast majority of pensioners, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

Today’s price rise will be a crushing blow to all those pensioners who are wondering how they will get through the coming months without having to choose between heating and eating following the Winter Fuel Payment cuts.

The Conservative Party proved themselves utterly unfit to govern and we recognise that the new government must clear up their mess, but to cut Winter Fuel Payments for vulnerable pensioners in the midst of a cost of living crisis with energy bills rising sharply again, is the wrong thing to do.

That is why the Liberal Democrats have opposed these cuts every step of the way and will continue to do so until the government brings forward a fairer plan.

It is not too late for the government to think again and ensure vulnerable pensioners get the support they need.

New poll shows 1 in 4 Brits have avoided calling an ambulance over fears it would take too long to arrive

• One in four (25%) Brits who needed to visit A&E but did not call for an ambulance called for a taxi, one in five (18%) walked to A&E and 17% chose to stay at home rather than get the treatment they needed

• Half of Brits worried they will face a 12-hour wait in A&E if NHS hit by another winter crisis

• Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey warns the Conservatives have driven the NHS to breaking point and that leadership candidates are firing insults at each other instead of taking responsibility

• Ed Davey will be visiting North Devon District Hospital tomorrow as plans to modernise the hospital are at risk of being scrapped

A shocking new poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats reveals that one in four Brits have avoided calling an ambulance because they thought it would take too long to arrive.

Of the UK adults who have needed to visit A&E but did not call for an ambulance, the majority (57%) say that they drove themselves or asked a family member to drive them instead. One in four (25%) say they called for a taxi, one in five (18%) say they walked to A&E, and shockingly 17% chose to stay at home rather than get the treatment they needed as they were unable to travel. This follows NHS chiefs warning healthcare services are likely to come under “significant pressure” and many patients will face longer waits for care during the winter.

The data also reveals that half (49%) of Brits say they are worried that they will face a 12 hour wait in A&E or won’t be able to access NHS treatment due to long waiting lists if the health service faces another winter crisis. Almost half of UK adults (45%) are worried they won’t be able to see their local GP, whilst a staggering two in five (38%) are worried an ambulance won’t arrive for them at all if the NHS is hit by another winter crisis.

This comes after the new Health Secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed that at least 25 of the promised 40 hospitals listed in the New Hospital Programme in England are under threat of having funding for new buildings scrapped. The North Devon District Hospital, which Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will be visiting today (Wednesday 2nd October), is one of the hospitals at risk, alongside Torbay Hospital and Sutton Specialist Emergency Care Hospital.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for additional funding to fix ageing hospitals across the country, as part of their plan to tackle the NHS and social care crisis. The party is calling for a ten-year plan to invest in hospitals and the primary care estate to end the scandal of crumbling roofs, dangerous RAAC concrete and life-expired buildings.

Ed Davey is also urging the Government to set up a new taskforce to “make the NHS winterproof” to put an end to the annual winter crises in the health service. The taskforce would bring together a team of experts reporting directly to the Health Secretary, responsible for strengthening coordination across the NHS and allocating long-term funding and resources to prevent winter crises.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The last Conservative Government’s incompetence and neglect has driven the NHS to breaking point. The situation is now so bad that patients are worried that when they call 999 or their local GP, they won’t receive the care they so desperately need.

Winter after winter the NHS has faced the same crises and the Conservatives never did more than paper over the cracks. Even now the Conservative leadership candidates are too busy firing insults at each other instead of taking responsibility for fixing the damage they did to our health service.

The crisis in the NHS must be tackled head on without delay. From crumbling hospitals to sky-high waiting lists, the new Government must make fixing the health service their top priority. Patients will pay the price if they fail.

Rennie responds to Accounts Commission Report

Responding to the embargoed Accounts Commission report which warns, “councils have never faced such acute challenges, putting budgets and workforce under severe stretch and strain”, Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie said:

The SNP have taken deliberate decisions to starve Scotland’s councils, sometimes as a budget gambit, sometimes as a stunt and sometimes because their own bad decisions have left them short of funds.

Humza Yousaf committing to a council tax freeze on a whim so that he had something to announce at SNP conference was the absolute nadir of this approach.

Local government deserves respect, long term funding deals and a commitment from the Scottish Government to work in partnership.

McArthur responds to Scottish Government evidence submission on assisted dying

Responding to the publication of the Scottish Government’s evidence submission on assisted dying, Liam McArthur MSP said:

I welcome the input of the Scottish Government and the commitment it has made to ensure a free vote on the bill alongside its position of neutrality on assisted dying.

The Presiding Officer has certified that the Scottish Parliament can pass a bill in this area but I have always been clear that the Scottish and UK Governments will need to agree to measures that will ensure that a truly comprehensive assisted dying process can operate in Scotland.

There are established mechanisms for transferring powers to enable legislation to be fully enacted in Scotland and no reason why these cannot be applied in this case.

Our current laws on assisted dying are failing too many terminally ill Scots, often leaving them facing an undignified and sometimes painful death despite the very best efforts of palliative care. The bill I have put forward will give terminally ill, mentally competent adults the option to control the manner and timing of their death.