• Green responds to independence bill
• Almost 500 repairs needed in Scottish police buildings
• Cole-Hamilton responds to SNP’s first 100 days failure
• Chamberlain responds to serial rapist police officer passing vetting checks

Green responds to independence bill

Responding to the Scottish Government publishing a draft referendum bill on independence, Scottish Liberal Democrat public service reform spokesperson David Green MSP said:

Yawn.

Almost 500 repairs needed in Scottish police buildings

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP has today urged the SNP to “wake up” to the pressures facing the justice system, as she revealed that there are almost 500 repair works needed in police buildings across the country.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request to Police Scotland asked for the detail of repair works raised in condition surveys.

These surveys outline the physical state of police buildings and any work that requires attention.

The request found that:

• There are 460 works requiring attention in 175 police buildings across Scotland.
• 57 of these works related to fire safety.
• 33 related to security, while 28 related to roofing.
• Police stations in Glasgow have some of the highest number of repairs requiring attention, with 10 needed at the London Road Station, 10 at Meiklewood Road Complex and 8 at Govan Police Station.
• The Scottish Police College in Tulliallan has 17 repairs requiring attention

The 2026 condition surveys estimated that these works would cost £20,671,609.

The request also found that an investment of £510 million is required to maintain and upgrade the police estate in line with modern policing needs.

In 2024, Police Scotland shut down its Forfar HQ due to concerns around the building’s structural safety, water ingress and potentially dangerous airborne yeasts and moulds. Lying empty ever since, there are now plans to sell the building, but there is no indication of when it will go on the market.

Police Scotland first announced plans to replace Greenock’s ageing police station in 2023, but it has yet to be delivered.

Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

The scale of the repairs needed across the police estate should be a wake-up call to this SNP government.

With the number of sexual crimes at their highest level in over 50 years and an increasing number of complex mental health cases to deal with, Scottish policing is already under strain. Police officers need to be able to do their work in safe buildings that are fit for purpose- that should be a bare minimum.

The SNP’s centralisation of the police has already failed to deliver many of the improvements and efficiencies that ministers promised.

The new Justice Secretary needs to start getting this right. That means working with the police service to ensure they are well-resourced to fight crime and keep communities safe.

Police officers should know that Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to fight their corner.

Cole-Hamilton responds to SNP’s first 100 days failure

Responding to the SNP’s failure to deliver on many of the pledges they made for the first 100 days of government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

No matter how many 100 days the SNP are given, they can’t ever seem to get it right. John Swinney is marking this latest milestone with a backlog of broken promises.

For too long, the SNP have announced lots of glitzy things that either don’t materialise or are completely unworkable from the start. It has come at an extremely high cost for our NHS, our schools, our economy and our high streets.

Scotland deserves voices in parliament that will finally put solutions above soundbites, and that is exactly what my party are ready to provide.

Chamberlain responds to serial rapist police officer passing vetting checks

Responding to the findings of a BBC Disclosure investigation that a police officer, who was later exposed as a violent serial rapist, passed vetting checks to join the service, despite having two reports of criminal behaviour against women on his record, Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader and former police officer Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

This is a horrific and distressing failure. The very processes that should have prevented Alan Greer’s horrific abuses of power allowed them to happen.

Is it any wonder that so many women do not trust they will be taken seriously when they report these kinds of incidents to the police?

To make matters worse, Police Scotland have failed to give clear and straight answers about what went wrong here. How on earth can they possibly have claimed that there were no ‘missed opportunities’ to spot the crimes he went on to commit as a police officer?

The Scottish Government must urgently explain what steps they are taking to prevent this from ever happening again.