• Thames Water must be turned into a public benefit company
• Prepayment Meters: victims must see compensation before the winter and debts fully written off
• Defra cuts: Government treating rural communities with “gobsmacking contempt”
• Police chiefs letter: police and criminal justice systems need “real leadership” say Lib Dems
• Scot Lib Dems call for new treatment pathways for neurodiversity
• McArthur writes to MSPs as France backs assisted dying
• Jardine calls for the scrapping of the Two Child Cap

Thames Water must be turned into a public benefit company

Speaking on the £122.7m fine handed down to Thames Water, Lib Dem Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

This is shocking but hardly surprising. Thames Water has been failing for years; failing to invest, failing to maintain, and failing to deliver, and all the while it has been dumping sewage in our rivers and waterways. It has saddled customers with its debts and provided them with shoddy service in the meantime.

This should be the final nail in the coffin for Thames Water. It needs to be turned into a public benefit company and Ofwat needs to be scrapped and replaced with a real regulator with teeth.

Prepayment Meters: victims must see compensation before the winter and debts fully written off

Responding to the announcement that thousands of energy customers are set to receive payouts of up to £1,000 each in response to the prepayment meters scandal, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and long-time campaigner on this issue Wera Hobhouse said:

It is high-time that the victims of this scandal are recognised and properly compensated after energy companies rode rough-shod over them in this disgraceful way. Those affected have already waited too long for justice. Pay outs now need to be made in time for the winter months, when we know energy costs are higher.

The Conservative Party neglected these victims and ignored Liberal Democrat attempts to prevent more people suffering forced installations. Today they should feel ashamed of their failures.

And to think that some may still not have all their debt written off is simply not right. These companies need to write off the debts they forced upon the people who bore the brunt of this scandal.

Defra cuts: Government treating rural communities with “gobsmacking contempt”

Responding to reporting in the Guardian that the nature-friendly farming budget is set to be slashed in the UK spending review, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

The Government is treating rural communities with gobsmacking contempt. If this comes to pass ministers would be putting yet another nail in the coffin of farming in this country.

Many farmers are barely making ends meet, working for half the minimum wage, yet they still tirelessly maintain our countryside and it is their stewardship that allows us all to enjoy its beauty. With these cuts, those same farmers will simply not be able to protect nature in this way anymore.

The Government’s utter failure to understand rural communities risks decimating them. At the spending review we cannot see farmers come under siege once more and these cuts cannot come to pass.

Police chiefs letter: police and criminal justice systems need “real leadership” say Lib Dems

Responding to the six police chiefs’ letter to the Times today warning of the consequences of underinvestment in the police system, Josh Babarinde MP, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson, said:

Across the country, people will be worried sick by what we’ve heard over the last 24 hours, wondering how real-terms policing cuts and early release schemes will impact them and their families.

Years of mismanagement and neglect under the Conservatives ran our policing and criminal justice systems into the ground – but this is proof that the Labour government has failed to step up and tackle the scale of the problem in response.

Our policing and criminal justice systems need to be working hand-in-hand, not in silos. It’s high time that the Government shows some real leadership by bringing together police chiefs and criminal justice chiefs ahead of the Spending Review to ensure that both systems have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.

Scot Lib Dems call for new treatment pathways for neurodiversity

Today, Scottish Liberal Democrats will lead a debate in the Scottish Parliament where they will demand new treatment pathways for neurodiversity, warning that the lack of treatment options is negatively impacting the Scottish economy.

In the debate, the party will highlight a series of SNP failings including:

• the lack of adequate provision for neurodevelopmental conditions, particularly in the context of a sharp rise in demand for neurodiversity assessments and treatment for adults and children following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• the wider economic consequences of rising levels of economic inactivity linked to unmet health needs.
• the widespread removal of shared care arrangements where patients who obtained a private diagnoses for conditions like ADHD could receive ongoing care and medication through the Scottish NHS.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Scotland is completely failing on provision for neurodevelopmental conditions.

Since the pandemic, there has been a sharp rise in demand for neurodiversity assessments but instead of the government seizing an opportunity to build back better, services have collapsed.

Currently people are facing waiting lists that stretch into the years. Many of them have ended up going private but even once they get a diagnosis, they cannot get a prescription filled.

Ensuring people who need support can access it swiftly is not just the compassionate choice, it would also be the sensible one economically, allowing people to get back to work.

The Scottish Government need to work urgently with NHS boards and local authorities to devise a robust protocol on the use of shared care arrangements to allow for their use where appropriate, and listen to the proposals from the Royal College of Psychiatrists for new treatment pathways for neurodevelopmental conditions.

McArthur writes to MSPs as France backs assisted dying

Liam McArthur MSP has today written to MSPs highlighting “growing international evidence” as parliamentarians in France voted in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill patients.

In his letter, Mr McArthur noted that this would be a choice available solely to terminally ill, mentally competent adults, and the existence of safeguards to protect the vulnerable, including a clear conscientious objection clause for healthcare providers.

President Macron has described the reforms as “an important step” toward a more compassionate and dignified approach to dying.

Mr McArthur’s letter is as follows:

Dear colleague,

I thought you might be interested to hear about a significant development in end-of-life law reform from France, where the National Assembly (the lower house) has voted in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill patients.

The bill, backed by President Emmanuel Macron, was passed by 305 votes to 199 following a free vote in the Assembly—illustrating, as in many jurisdictions, that conscience on this matter transcends party lines. It now proceeds to the Senate and will likely return to the Assembly for final approval at the beginning of 2026. If passed, it would make France the eighth EU country to adopt such legislation.

The proposed law is carefully framed and been arrived at through a deliberative process. As with the bills being considered here and at Westminster, it would be a choice available solely to terminally ill, mentally competent adults. Safeguards to protect the vulnerable, including a clear conscientious objection clause for healthcare providers, have also been central to the final form of the bill.

A parallel bill guaranteeing the right to palliative care passed without opposition. President Macron described the dual reform as “an important step” toward a more compassionate and dignified approach to dying.

I believe that France’s experience further adds to the growing international evidence that shows it is possible to create a legal, ethical and compassionate framework that upholds individual dignity while respecting the diversity of views across society.

Apologies again for adding to your inbox, but I hope this update is of interest and needless to say I would be very happy to discuss with colleagues how Scotland can learn from models elsewhere as we shape our own path forward.

Kind regards, Liam

Jardine calls for the scrapping of the Two Child Cap

Edinburgh West MP and Liberal Democrat Scottish Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine has called for the Two Child Cap to be scrapped in a letter to the Child Poverty Taskforce headed by the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

The Two Child Cap introduced by the Conservatives, stops families from receiving means tested benefits for more than two children, plunging families into poverty and costing the government millions in extra support.

Christine also expressed her disappointment in the delay in publication of the Child Poverty Strategy, due this Spring but now expected in the Autumn.

Christine Jardine MP said:

It is clear the two-child benefit cap does more harm than good, at a time when costs are rising and families are struggling to put food on the table.

We need to see swift action from the Labour government to make sure the next generation can fulfil their potential. Punishing working families is not the answer.

This government will fail those who need help most if they don’t scrap this cruel and unnecessary Conservative policy. I would urge the Government to publish the strategy as soon as possible to end the avoidable poverty we are seeing across the country.