• Davey on PM’s virtual summit: only way to achieve peace is to strengthen Ukraine’s hand by seizing frozen Russian assets
• NHS England: Same urgency must now be shown for social care
• SNP RAAC response non-existent compared to England
• Rennie responds to Gilruth Dundee University comments

Davey on PM’s virtual summit: only way to achieve peace is to strengthen Ukraine’s hand by seizing frozen Russian assets

Responding to the Prime Minister’s virtual meeting with world leaders to discuss Ukraine, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Putin could end this war today if he wanted peace, but it’s clear he’s only interested in destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty and turning it into a vassal state of Russia.

The only way to achieve a just and lasting peace is to strengthen Ukraine. We must redouble our efforts to support their defence in the face of Putin’s barbarism. If Ukraine loses, all of Europe will be less secure.

The PM must now commit to seizing the frozen Russian assets in the UK, and forge an agreement to do the same across Europe, to help strengthen Ukraine’s hand and ensure we can achieve real peace.

NHS England: Same urgency must now be shown for social care

Responding to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, speaking this morning on scrapping NHS England, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Helen Morgan said:

The Health Secretary is right that the NHS is broken and in need of major reform after years of Conservative failure. The focus must now be on ensuring that scrapping NHS England, and any further cuts, do not have negative impacts on the quality of care for patients.

The Government must also take the same sense of urgency shown here to social care, and complete their review by the end of the year rather than continuing to kick the can down the road.

SNP RAAC response non-existent compared to England

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has criticised the SNP for doing nothing to support health boards in dealing with RAAC, after research by his party found that the dangerous building material has been removed in scores of NHS buildings across England.

NHS England has a national RAAC programme, which delivers mitigation, safety and eradication works across all affected sites. To date, RAAC has been completely eradicated at 13 hospital sites and further sites are expected to have RAAC eradicated by the end of this financial year.

The UK Government has also committed to over £1 billion in investment to tackle RAAC in the NHS estate in England.

By contrast, in Scotland, there is no national RAAC programme or any dedicated funding support for helping NHS boards, local authorities and other public bodies tackle RAAC. This is despite more than 250 NHS buildings in Scotland being linked to RAAC.

Last month all services and patients were moved out of Knoll Community Hospital/Health Centre after an in-depth survey found the roof required remedial action “as soon as possible”.

In a parliamentary question asked by Mr Cole-Hamilton about whether the Scottish Government would be making money available to health boards, the Health Secretary stated that this would ‘have to be managed from existing budgets.’

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

The Scottish Government have done nothing to support health boards in dealing with RAAC.

The situation in England is far from perfect but after consistent Lib Dem campaigning at least there is now a list of hospitals which will see this material removed.

Here in Scotland, ministers have tried to downplay the importance of the issue and refused to commit a single penny of additional spending.

Surgical wards, a radiotherapy ward, maternity wards and major hospitals were all investigated for suspected RAAC. Just last month NHS Borders had to shut a 23-bed hospital and health centre at just a few days’ notice.

It’s been six years since issues with this concrete were first flagged. By failing to have a detailed and meaningful plan of action, SNP ministers are putting patients and staff at risk. They are also increasing the chances of this dodgy concrete being in the estate for decades to come.

We have seen homes, school buildings and now a community hospital evacuated. It’s high time that this government finally lifted a finger to support cash-strapped NHS boards, local authorities and other public bodies in dealing with this dangerous material.

Rennie responds to Gilruth Dundee University comments

Responding to comments from Jenny Gilruth blaming the crisis at Dundee University on financial mismanagement, Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP said:

The Scottish Government needs to be honest with themselves. Although the situation at Dundee University is more extreme than other universities, there are some serious problems at most.

The sector is facing strong headwinds which is threatening their excellence. Universities are changing with more part time students, the recruitment of international students is volatile and the there are higher taxes like employers national insurance contributions. If all that is changing we need to hunt for a new financial model.

Liberal Democrats are prepared to work together with the government and other parties to agree a new sustainable financial model. It’s now urgent to avoid more universities facing what Dundee is facing.