• Cole-Hamilton: Crisis-hit care sector deserves better than a dog’s dinner
• More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025
• Welsh unemployment rise: Labour must scrap their Jobs Tax
• Fraud and computer misuse make up two fifths of all crime
• Greenhouse gas stats show Scottish Government has “consistently failed”
• Greene calls for urgent national review of rural transport

Cole-Hamilton: Crisis-hit care sector deserves better than a dog’s dinner

Ahead of a final vote in the Scottish Parliament on the Care (Reform) Scotland Bill, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said carers deserve better and that the SNP should apologise for making “a dog’s dinner” of the legislation.

SNP ministers originally proposed a National Care Service to centralise social care services. Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose this from the very beginning.

In recent budget negotiations, Scottish Liberal Democrats put a stop to the SNP wasting money on their doomed centralisation, secured millions more for social care and fashioned a new pipeline for care workers through colleges. Liberal Democrats have also called for a new UK-wide national minimum wage for carers that is £2 higher and for care providers to be exempt from the national insurance hike.

Speaking ahead of the vote, which will take place in National Carers Week, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

The care sector is in crisis and the SNP have shown that they can’t be trusted to fix it.

SNP ministers should apologise to care users and providers across the country for making such a dog’s dinner of this legislation.

Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the SNP’s power grab from day one. We forced it out of the budget after the SNP had thrown away £30 million – money that could have paid the annual salaries of 1,200 care workers.

Carers deserve better and only the Liberal Democrats will deliver a fair deal. We introduced free personal care in Scotland, enshrined the right to carers leave in employment law and have just won a change that will enable family carers to earn more. Ed Davey put it at the heart of our manifesto and has opened up on his own life as a carer.

Carers – paid and unpaid, young and old – do a critical job. They deserve far more support but are too often forgotten and ignored. It’s why our plans would see care workers properly rewarded, high quality care for everyone who needs it and unpaid carers given the fair deal they deserve.

More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025

Responding to new figures showing that there were 308 suspected drug deaths in the first three months of 2025, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

100 people a month are dying in Scotland’s drug deaths crisis. It is nothing short of a national tragedy.

Drug misuse casts a long shadow across Scotland. That’s why my party made access to drug and alcohol services a major part of our budget negotiations earlier this year.

As a former youth worker with a charity that focused on parental substance use, I was pleased to secure support for a new facility for mothers and their babies born addicted to drugs. That’s key to getting people on the right path, but there is still a mountain to climb.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would give our country the world-class drug services it deserves. From rolling out a nationwide network of safer consumption rooms to new drug checking facilities, it’s time ministers listened to our calls.

Welsh unemployment rise: Labour must scrap their Jobs Tax

Responding to the latest figures showing unemployment in Wales at 4.7%, up 1.3 percentage points on the year, and that the number of paid employees in Wales has decreased by 5,300; Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

These latest figures show the huge amount of damage Labour’s misguided jobs tax is already having on the Welsh economy, with businesses in Wales implementing hiring freezes or cutting jobs.

The Chancellor talks about growth, but her Budget measures are acting as an anchor against just that. This is especially true in Wales, where our economy is more dependent on small businesses than in Scotland or England.

25 years of Labour rule in Wales has left our economy stagnant and the private sector employment in a much weaker state than other parts of the UK.

Rachel Reeves needs to listen, look at the evidence unfolding and scrap her jobs tax to get the Welsh economy growing again.

Fraud and computer misuse make up two fifths of all crime

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today said that the SNP government must “wake up” to threats posed by online criminal activity, after new figures revealed that fraud and computer misuse account for over two fifths of all crime in Scotland.

The 2023/24 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows that:

• Fraud and computer misuse made up over two fifths (44%) of all crimes, totalling 524,000.
• Of these, 456,000 were fraud, while 68,000 were computer misuse.
• Almost 47% of these crimes were bank and credit card fraud.
• An estimated one in ten people were the victim of a fraud or computer misuse crime.
• Less than half of adults in Scotland (45%) believed that the police in their local area were doing an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ job.

Commenting on these figures, Mr McArthur said:

With so much of our lives now online, the Scottish Government need to wake up to the threats posed by criminals who are seeking to exploit that.

Whether it’s phishing, social media hacking or stolen bank details, these figures show a staggering prevalence of online fraud. Ministers must have a clear plan for cutting this kind of crime and giving people the confidence they need to go about their daily lives.

This should go hand in hand with giving fraud teams the tools, time and expertise to pursue crimes properly.

More broadly, Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a properly resourced justice system that supports the police and prosecution authorities in doing their jobs and boosts public confidence.

On figures from the survey also showing a rise in violent crime, with estimated violent crime increasing by 73% since 2021/22, Mr McArthur added:

For many years, the SNP have failed to properly invest in our justice system.

After stretching the thin blue line of Scottish policing to breaking point, violent crime is on the rise and too many don’t feel safe in their own communities.

Liberal Democrats would end this neglect, give the police the support they need and keep the public safe.

Greenhouse gas stats show Scottish Government has “consistently failed”

Responding to new figures showing that Scottish greenhouse gas emissions fell by just 1.9% from 2022 to 2023, climate emergency spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

These figures show that the pace at which we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions has slowed down.

The Scottish Government has consistently failed to hit our national climate change targets.

Ministers should be launching a comprehensive national insulation programme. Not only would this reduce emissions by making houses more energy efficient, it would also reduce bills for Scots during a cost-of-living crisis.

Greener transport must be made the easy option with a far wider rollout of EV chargers, communities put in charge of when and where buses go, and cheaper train fares.

Greene calls for urgent national review of rural transport

Scottish Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has today demanded a full independent national review of rural bus services and public transport contingency planning.

This follows what Mr Greene described as a “pathetic and complacent” response from the Scottish Government to a question on the escalating bus strike crisis in Ayrshire.

Speaking during Topical Questions at Holyrood, Mr Greene pressed the Minister for clarity on what the Government is doing to protect public connectivity amid six weeks of continuous strike action by over 400 Stagecoach drivers.

More than 30 local bus routes across Ayr, Ardrossan and Arran have been suspended until 21 July, leaving thousands stranded.

In response, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity of Scotland admitted that he had not spoken to either Stagecoach or Unite, and offered no explanation as to contingency plans in place to support rural communities.

The MSP has now formally called on the Government to commission a national, independent review of rural bus networks, with a focus on emergency planning and service resilience, to ensure communities are never again left behind during industrial action or operator disruption.

Mr Greene said the exchange in Holyrood had confirmed what many in affected communities feared, that the Scottish Government has no real plan to support vulnerable or rural residents when services fail, or strike action occurs.

Commenting, Mr Greene said:

The Minister’s response was frankly pathetic.

He hasn’t spoken to the union. He hasn’t spoken to the operator. And he offered absolutely nothing to the communities being left completely stranded.

This is no longer just about a pay dispute, it’s about basic public connectivity, and the Government is washing its hands of responsibility.

Public transport is a public responsibility. Ministers cannot keep hiding behind the word ‘private’ while communities suffer.

If a single company’s strike can shut down public transport for half a region, the system is broken.

The Government must urgently commit to a root-and-branch review of Scotland’s rural bus services — how they’re funded, how they’re protected, and how we keep people connected in a crisis.