• Dunlop: What is the Scottish Government doing to stop care-experienced young people dying prematurely?
• Harley responds to extension of GP walk-in centres
• Burnham Wales Visit – Wales doesn’t need another Labour listening exercise, Wales needs action

Dunlop: What is the Scottish Government doing to stop care-experienced young people dying prematurely?

Following a UK Government review into deaths among young people with experience of the care system in England, Scottish Liberal Democrat children spokesperson Duncan Dunlop MSP highlighted that the scale of the tragedy is “no different” in Scotland.

An independent UK Government review estimates that young people who are leaving the care system in England are dying at three to four times the rate of other people their age.

More than a third of the deaths examined by the review were believed to be suicides.

The Liberal Democrat MSP used his maiden speech in the Scottish Parliament to tell the stories of young people in Scotland whom the state has failed.

He has also repeatedly pressed the SNP government to commit to publishing the premature death rates of all care-experienced people, ensuring that a mechanism is in place to monitor progress.

Duncan Dunlop MSP said:

I got into politics because I want to transform the lives and outcomes of Scotland’s care-experienced young people.

The findings of the UK Government’s review are nothing short of tragic, and the horrifying scale of that tragedy is no different in Scotland.

After leading a care charity for many years, I have seen first-hand the trauma experienced by young people in Scotland’s care system. I have also seen how they have been utterly failed by the SNP’s broken Promise.

I have repeatedly pressed the Scottish Government to sit down to work on this specific issue. As a bare minimum, I want to see them gathering a clear picture of the problem in Scotland, which is why ministers should commit to publishing the premature death rates of all care-experienced people.

By taking steps like this, we can start to reinvigorate efforts to transform care and ultimately save lives. The Scottish Government needs to get on with it.

Harley responds to extension of GP walk-in centres

Responding to the Scottish Government’s plans to extend the number of GP walk-in centres despite stubbornly low attendance rates among those that are already up and running, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said:

Several GP walk-in centres are seeing as few as four patients a day. It’s a far cry from the one million additional appointments promised by John Swinney.

The Royal College of General Practitioners describes this SNP scheme as poor value for money. They have also suggested it may increase the workload on GPs, making it even more difficult for patients to be seen.

The Scottish Government need to urgently rethink this plan and start listening to the voices of nurses and doctors.

The focus should be on easing the burden on GPs to free up their time and get everyone seen quicker. The best way to do that is by hiring more specialist staff in GP practices, enabling pharmacists to do more prescribing and investing in modern IT and digital systems.

Burnham Wales Visit – Wales doesn’t need another Labour listening exercise, Wales needs action

Responding to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s anticipated visit to South Wales, Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

Andy Burnham says he is coming to Wales to listen to people struggling with the cost of living, but Labour ran Wales for 26 years until May.

In that time, wages remained the lowest of the UK nations, child poverty was the highest, and Labour utterly failed to build the prosperous Welsh economy it repeatedly promised.

If Andy Burnham is serious about easing the burden on Welsh families, his government must deliver: fixing our broken energy market, standing up for our farmers, properly funding rural services and giving Wales its fair share of infrastructure investment.

Wales doesn’t need another Labour listening exercise. Wales needs action.