• Lord Cameron urged to answer questions in the House of Commons amid global conflicts
• Long Covid may have reduced Scotland’s GDP by £120m and cost 11,000 jobs
• Scottish Liberal Democrats attack Government over GP closures
• Blackie: Abolish London’s bedtime

Lord Cameron urged to answer questions in the House of Commons amid global conflicts

• Liberal Democrats call on “unelected and unaccountable Foreign Secretary” to take questions from MPs

• Layla Moran MP writes directly to the Foreign Secretary demanding accountability

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Layla Moran MP, has written to the Foreign Secretary urging him to appear in the House of Commons this week.

The letter to Lord Cameron follows escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, a G7 Summit, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Last week, the government blocked a request by cross-party MPs which called on Lord Cameron to be accountable for the question.

In the letter, Layla Moran MP writes:

The public are demanding answers from you about the government’s response to these situations.

Every day thousands of people write to their MPs, wanting to know what the government is doing to ensure aid can reach the people of Gaza, why we haven’t proscribed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or wanting to know how we are combatting Russia’s expansionist exploits into our allies’ territory.

In the 21st century, it should not be the case that our Foreign Secretary is both unelected and unaccountable.

You speak on behalf of the United Kingdom as our most senior diplomat. Yet you refuse to speak to your own elected Members of Parliament.

Our constituents must have the ability to have their concerns put directly to the Foreign Secretary.

Long Covid may have reduced Scotland’s GDP by £120m and cost 11,000 jobs

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today called on the Scottish Government to develop a long-term plan for tackling Long Covid after a new economic report indicated that the condition may have reduced Scotland’s GDP by a massive £120m.

A new report The Economic Impact of Long Covid in the UK by Cambridge Econometrics estimates that across the UK, Long Covid “may have macroeconomic costs of some £1.5bn of GDP each year, with the impacts increasing if future prevalence were to rise. The main driver of this result is the way in which Long Covid reduces people’s ability to work, leading to lower household incomes and lower economic growth overall. Lower employment of around 138,000 by 2030 follows as a consequence.”

Adjusted for Scotland’s share of the UK population, this suggests a yearly economic impact of £120m and a cost of 11,000 jobs by 2030.

Despite announcing a £10m Long Covid support fund, the Scottish Government spent less than £670,000 on supporting Long Covid patients in financial year 2022/23.

In a letter to the Convener of the Covid-19 Recovery Committee dated March 2023, Humza Yousaf tried to explain the reasons for this underspend, citing “delays in recruiting to posts identified to implement the pathways of care for long Covid.”

However, several NHS boards warned the Scottish Government at least a year before that letter was sent, in their funding applications from March 2022, that the non-recurring nature of the funding would result in the creation of temporary posts, which could pose problems with recruitment.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

Far too many Scots know, first-hand, the devastating reality of living with Long Covid. Breathing difficulties, cognitive problems and crushing fatigue are just some of the many symptoms they face on a daily basis. Previously healthy young people are now forced to use wheelchairs and many have been unable to return to work.

Despite repeatedly promising to help, Humza Yousaf has failed to properly invest in adequate treatment pathways for sufferers. We’re now seeing the economic impact of the Government’s inaction. What these figures show is that investing in support for those with Long Covid would also be good for our economy too.

If even a fraction of those who are out of work or working reduced hours as a result of this condition could be helped into recovery, this investment would pay for it itself several times over.

The Scottish Government were warned that it they didn’t commit to supporting health boards in the long term, then boards would find it challenging to fill temporary posts.

This lacklustre approach is an insult to all those ordinary Scots, many of whom have been suffering for almost four years now.

The Scottish Government must urgently change tack and work with health boards to ensure funding can be put to use to help all those in need.

Scottish Liberal Democrats attack Government over GP closures

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today criticised the Scottish Government over the closure of GP practices.

Figures from the British Medical Association show that:

• The number of GP practices providing services to patients has reduced in at least 12 out of 14 Scottish health boards. There are now 17 fewer practices in Glasgow, 16 fewer in Lanarkshire, 11 fewer in Grampian and 8 fewer in the Highlands.
• The number of patients per GP in the area has also gone up in 13 out of 14 health boards. In Lanarkshire each GP is now responsible for 2,201 patients. In Fife, they are responsible for 1,816. In Grampian they are responsible for 1,803.
• Across Scotland, 79 practices, or almost 10% of the total have formally closed their list to new patients. That’s up from just 19 practices in 2018.

In February, Scottish Liberal Democrats put forward a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling on the government to rewrite the failed NHS Recovery Plan to get recruitment and retention of staff back on track and build stronger local health services by expanding the range of services and specialists available, including in fields such as mental health and physiotherapy. The SNP/Green Government blocked it.

The party also revealed that as many as one in five Scots say their mental health had been impacted by long GP and hospital waits.

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

The Scottish Government is driving local health services into the ground.

Hundreds of thousands of Scots are finding it near-impossible to see their GP and waiting months for hospital treatment.

Increasing numbers of GP practices are being forced to close their patient lists because they do not have sufficient resources to meet their patient needs.

This is one of the biggest issues that comes up on doorsteps across the country and Scottish Liberal Democrats have a plan. We want to see more specialists in areas such as mental health and physiotherapy and swift access to care close to home.

Blackie: Abolish London’s bedtime

London Lib Dem Mayoral candidate, Rob Blackie, has claimed it is time to “abolish London’s bedtime” with a raft of proposals to boost the capital’s nighttime economy and ensure it becomes a truly 24/7 city.

The Mayor’s Night Czar, Amy Lamé, has faced heavy criticism for overseeing the decline in London nightlife – including losing almost half its nightclubs and the much-riducled difficulty in finding a place to drink after midnight.

Lib Dem Rob Blackie will:

• Launch a consultative review of Night Time Economy with London’s hospitality and events industry, led by a newly appointed industry-expert Czar

• Trial buses hail-and-ride after 10pm as well as running replacement night busses on routes with no Night Tube

• Newly launched London Apprenticeships Hub to work with industry on creating new hospitality routes to employment

• Work with borough councils to support more night time economy friendly licensing conditions in key areas

Blackie announced his night time economy plan after visiting a central London bar, Cellar Door, with bar-owner Paul Kohler.

Speaking after the launch, Rob Blackie said:

London’s night time economy has been going down hill for far too long and the city that never sleeps has been in a slumber. Well it’s time to abolish London’s bedtime and get our capital back to being a truly 24/7 city.

If I’m elected Mayor, I won’t hire a party supporter to jetset around the world to find out what a good night out looks like. I’ll get an industry-expert to do the hard yards on the ground, find out what London’s businesses want and deliver.

The Mayor has such a big role to play in making transport work at night, supporting employment and working with borough councils to make a difference. My plan will bring London’s night to life again.