• Inflation: Welcome fall but winter will still be difficult for the most vulnerable
• McArthur welcomes Leadbetter bill on assisted dying
• Wendy Chamberlain MP lodges Bill to remove red tape on charity lottery fundraising
• Closure of Rural Housing Scotland must mean soul-searching for SNP ministers
• McArthur responds to public letter by chief medical officers

Inflation: Welcome fall but winter will still be difficult for the most vulnerable

Responding to the latest inflation figures, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

The fall in inflation is welcome but we can’t fool ourselves that this winter won’t be difficult for the most vulnerable.

The price of a weekly shop is still sky high, energy prices have risen once again and people are still feeling the effects of the spike in mortgage rates.

The government must urgently look at ways to support the most vulnerable this winter and that should start by reversing their decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments for millions of worried pensioners.

McArthur welcomes Leadbetter bill on assisted dying

Speaking ahead of the introduction of assisted dying legislation in the UK Parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur has welcomed the move and said that it represents more evidence of the momentum that is building behind a change to the law.

Kim Leadbeater, Labour MP for Spen Valley, will formally introduce her bill on choice at the end of life at its First Reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday 16th October 2024.

The Bill will have its Second Reading debate on Friday 29 November – the first opportunity MPs will have to debate and vote on an assisted dying bill since 2015.

Mr McArthur said:

Our current laws on assisted dying are failing too many terminally ill Brits, often leaving them facing an undignified and sometimes painful death despite the very best efforts of palliative care. It is clear that a new compassionate and safe law is required.

The introduction of legislation in the UK Parliament is evidence of the growing momentum that is building behind changing the law.

In recent weeks I have spoken with Kim about both the need for and the evidence backing a change to the existing law that causes anguish for so many people and I am confident that she will be an eloquent and determined champion for dying people seeking choice at the end of life.

As MPs debate this important issue, I hope they will listen to the overwhelming majority who want to see the law changed. Both Kim and I will be making the case for greater choice and compassion as parliamentarians scrutinise our bills going forward.

Wendy Chamberlain MP lodges Bill to remove red tape on charity lottery fundraising

Wendy Chamberlain, MP for Fife North East, has today lodged a Private Members Bill in the House of Commons seeking to remove the outdated caps on charity lottery fundraising.

At present each charity lottery is capped at selling £50 million worth of tickets each year, which acts as a break on its ability to maximise funds for good causes. These sales caps restrict the amount and flexibility of charitable funds such lotteries generate for good causes across the country. Ms Chamberlain’s Bill would remove these limits, which apply to no other form of charity fundraising or to any other gambling product.

Currently generating over £420 million a year for third sector organisations across Britain, charity lotteries are the only type of gambling or fundraising product subject to annual caps on sales, which serve no obvious purpose.

Regulated by the 2005 Gambling Act, charity lotteries have existed since the 1960s. Such lotteries are unique in that they specialise in long-term, unrestricted funding for good causes on a not-for-profit basis.

While Parliament partially reformed charity lottery limits on 2020, the country’s best-known charity lottery fundraiser, People’s Postcode Lottery, has led sector calls for continued reform – something that was promised, but never delivered by the former Conservative Government despite strong backbench support from the party’s MPs. People’s Postcode Lottery estimates that removing the annual cap on sales could free up an additional £175 million for good causes across the next five years for the charities it supports, which would continue to come at no cost to the public purse.

Fife North East Liberal Democrat, Wendy Chamberlain MP, said:

I am delighted to introduce my second Private Members Bill to Parliament, which aims to remove the sales limits on charity lotteries and allow them to maximise their charity fundraising; and therefore the amount available to charities themselves.

Charity lotteries play a vital role in supporting charities large and small across Britain, yet they are subject to limits on their sales, which ties them up in red tape, and restricts their effectiveness.

I have seen for myself the benefit to local charities from lottery funding. Good causes ranging from farming experiences and skill building for people with additional support needs to walking groups and local community projects have received funding within the last year in North East Fife alone.

These limits have no obvious purpose and removing them would cost the Treasury nothing, yet it will help boost charities at a time when they face a difficult fundraising environment.

It is bizarre that every other type of gambling product has no limit on sales, yet the product does so much good for society through supporting our charities is capped.

That is why I am delighted to be taking action to remove this needless red tape and help boost charity lottery fundraising.

Clara Govier, Managing Director of People’s Postcode Lottery said:

The charity lottery sales limits are causing increasing difficulties for charity lottery fundraising at a time when charities need these vital funds to respond to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. We welcome Wendy Chamberlain bringing forward this Bill and urge MPs cross Parliament to support it.

One of the other charities affected is Magic Breakfast, who are working to ensure no child is too hungry to learn. Their Chief Executive, Lindsey MacDonald, commented:

At Magic Breakfast we are responding to vastly increased need, yet because of the charity lottery sales limits our funding from charity lotteries cannot increase. We join leaders across the charity sector who are calling on Parliament to take action and resolve this issue as soon as possible. We therefore welcome this Bill from Wendy Chamberlain MP and urge the Government to back it.

Laura Lee, Chief Executive of Maggie’s, who run cancer centres across Britain, added:

Charity lotteries have been transformational for so many charities and the important work they do. That has certainly been the case for Maggie’s and it therefore makes no sense that charity lotteries are stymied by Government red tape.

That is why we warmly welcome Wendy Chamberlain MP bringing forward this Private Members Bill to remove the charity lottery sales limits and help maximise funds for charities like Maggie’s, helping us to help cancer patients and their families across Britain.

One of the charities supporting the Bill is the Royal Voluntary Service, who support and organise volunteers across the country to support communities and the NHS. Chief Executive, Catherine Johnstone CBE, commented:

The public will no doubt be surprised and disappointed that there is any sort of limit on charity fundraising. Because of the current charity lottery sales limits, the funding Royal Voluntary Service receives from charity lotteries cannot increase – which is an absurd situation. Increased funding from charity lotteries would mean we could provide more support to those who need it most. I urge all MPs to back this important Private Members Bill to remove these limits on doing good!

Closure of Rural Housing Scotland must mean soul-searching for SNP ministers

Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire Angus MacDonald has today warned that that the news that the closure of Rural Housing Scotland must trigger soul-searching among SNP ministers after the leading charity dedicated to supporting Scotland’s rural communities in securing affordable local housing announced that it will close its doors after over 20 years of service.

In a statement on their website, the charity noted

The Scottish Government recently stopped financial support for organisations like ours.

Commenting on the closure, Mr MacDonald said:

Rural Scotland needs more housing and this charity have been at the forefront of making that case for more than 20 years. For this important voice to be silenced due to lack of funds when there is Scotland-wide housing crisis and a record number of children in temporary accommodation is extremely disappointing.

Ensuring that everyone has a place to call home is a basic responsibility of any government. That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats would build more homes, bring thousands of empty homes back into use and re-establish social rent as a valid, long-term option.

I think there needs to be some real soul searching among Edinburgh-based ministers about what on earth their plan is for rural communities. Without affordable housing businesses can’t grow, public services can’t find the staff they need and the vibrancy of our communities is at risk.

McArthur responds to public letter by chief medical officers

Responding to the public letter signed by the chief medical officers for the four UK nations and published by the Department of Health and Social Care on Wednesday, as Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said:

I’d like to thank the chief medical officers for their contribution to this debate.

I agree with them that the provision of good end-of-life care must not be undermined at any stage, and that healthcare staff should be able to decide whether to take part in providing assisted dying.

That’s why my bill puts in place safeguards to ensure that no one is compelled to take part in the assisted dying process against their will.

I am also clear that assisted dying should not be seen as an alternative to excellent palliative care. It is about providing a choice for those for whom palliative care is no longer enough.

The recent report from the House of Commons’ Health and Social committee noted that in the evidence they received they “did not see any indications of palliative and end-of-life care deteriorating in quality or provision following the introduction of [assisted dying]; indeed the introduction of [assisted dying] has been linked with an improvement in palliative care in several jurisdictions.