A big day in Scottish politics today, and the day’s press releases reflect that…

• Cole-Hamilton: Programme for government must match Scotland’s talent
• Chou Turvey responds to police officer illness and injury
• Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court
• Harley: Swinney must deliver for NHS in programme for government

Cole-Hamilton: Programme for government must match Scotland’s talent

Speaking ahead of John Swinney’s Programme for Government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

The SNP’s programmes for government often read like a wish list to Santa that never got posted, leaving us to think of all the things that never got delivered.

Scotland deserves a government that will match the talent, creativity and ambition of its people.

The priorities of John Swinney’s agenda must be: fixing the crisis in social care to fix the NHS, using ever lever at the Scottish Government’s disposal to help with the cost of living, finally dualling the A9, ending the ferries fiasco, and getting Scottish education back to its best.

From the opposition benches, with our newly expanded group of MSPs, we will be the grown-ups of this parliament, providing strong and effective criticism, hunting for agreement where we can, to get things done for the people of Scotland.

Chou Turvey responds to police officer illness and injury

Responding to embargoed reporting by 1919 Magazine, which highlights that almost 3,000 Scottish police officers are unable to carry out their full operational duties due to illness or injury, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

This is a staggering number of police officers who are unable to do their full job.

Many of these officers are struggling because of the spiralling demand on their time and the failure of the SNP government to properly support them.

Ministers need to stop asking police officers to perform the impossible. I will be using my voice in parliament to make sure the government finally steps up and meets the needs of officers and staff.

Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court

Responding to reporting in the Scotsman that SNP ministers have failed to bring forward any funding for their flagship sexual offences court, which they said would help cut the backlog of court cases, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

The SNP have an exceptionally poor track record of making lots of commitments in legislation and then failing to do the practical work to implement them.

The sexual offences court is at risk of suffering the same fate as greater protections for domestic abuse victims, protections which were promised in law more than five years ago, but which have yet to be implemented.

I am concerned that the SNP’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls is a fundamentally superficial one: warm words that grab headlines but go nowhere.

Ministers must set out a timeline for the creation of a specialist sexual offences court. They must also clarify whether additional resource will be given to ensure the law is implemented.

Harley: Swinney must deliver for NHS in programme for government

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP has said John Swinney must deliver for the NHS in his programme for government, as new figures revealed the worst ever A&E waiting times for July, high delayed discharges, thousands of people waiting more than a year for mental health care and increasing vacancies among nursing and midwifery staff.

New figures published today reveal:

• In July, 14,361 patients waited over 8 hours at A&E, while 5,335 waited over 12 hours.
• In July, 2,019 patients were stuck in hospital due to their discharge being delayed- also the worst July on record.
• There have been 31,241 fewer operations between August 2025 and July 2026 than there were in the equivalent period before the pandemic.
• As at the end of June, over 2,700 adults, children and young people who were waiting or had started mental health treatment at the end of the quarter were waiting more than a year.
• As at the end of June, there were 3,115 vacancies among nursing and midwifery staff- a 14.9% increase from the previous quarter.

On A&E waiting times, Adam said:

When the SNP first took power, virtually no one was waiting more than 12 hours at A&E. Now, over 1,000 people are experiencing these waits every week.

People are waiting what must feel like a lifetime at A&E because there are too many beds occupied by patients who can’t get the care package they need to return home.

Fixing Scotland’s NHS must be at the heart of John Swinney’s programme for government. The only way to do that is to fix the social care crisis so we can let people leave hospital on time, free up bed space and get everyone the care they need when they need it.

On delayed discharges, Adam said:

Every month, thousands of patients are medically ready to leave hospital but require a care package once they get home. A shortage of those packages means patients are left in limbo on a hospital bed.

This situation is putting enormous strain on our NHS, with new patients arriving at hospitals waiting hours on end until a bed becomes free.

The SNP promised to end these delays more than a decade ago, but they are now costing the NHS £1.2 million a day.

This programme for government should be about fixing our broken care system. It should be an agenda that commits to boosting pay and conditions for care workers, recruiting more people into caring professions and delivering new key worker housing to help them live and work in the communities they serve.

On cancelled operations, Adam said:

Under the SNP, there’s a huge backlog of operations, and staff don’t have the support they need.

John Swinney’s programme for government should set out a plan for increasing NHS capacity. Scottish Liberal Democrats understand the importance of that, having fought hard to persuade the government to restart work on hospital projects like the Belford Hospital in Fort William.

I also want to see ministers listening to my party’s calls for a rolling, 10-year NHS Workforce Plan, which would identify gaps in staff and resolve them early on.

On mental health waiting times, Adam said:

The Scottish Government is failing people who are asking for help with their mental health. People should not have to reach crisis point before they can access support, yet too often there simply isn’t the capacity to help them.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have proposed training and recruiting more professionals. We want to make sure people can access care close to home, including at their local GP surgeries.

Scotland deserves world-class mental health services, and Scottish Liberal Democrats have a realistic plan to make sure people get they help and support them need.

On nursing and midwifery vacancies, Adam said:

These enormous gaps can be traced all the way back to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP cutting training places and claiming that was ‘sensible’.

Staff are already under huge pressure, struggling to provide the care patients need, with many considering leaving the NHS.

Scottish Liberal Democrats want better for our nurses and midwives so we can deliver first-rate healthcare to everyone. There needs to be a proper 10-year workforce plan for the NHS and care to get on top of what they need.