• Shocking research reveals almost 4 in 5 car thefts go unsolved
• Davey: Social care commission “long overdue”
• Davey: social care review should be “done and dusted within a year”
• Flu admissions: alarming consequences from lack of winterpoofing
• SNP have starved local communities of funding for public toilets

Shocking research reveals almost 4 in 5 car thefts go unsolved

• Shock data reveals that on average 78.5% of all car thefts go unsolved, a grand total of 24,837 in the quarter ending June 2024.

• Liberal Democrats are urging the government to restore proper community policing, where officers have the time and resources to properly respond to neighbourhood crimes like car theft.

Data from the Home Office reveals the extent of the car theft epidemic in England and Wales, with almost 25,000 car thefts going unsolved in just three months.

The Metropolitan Police force reported the worst figures, with a staggering 90% of all reported car thefts going unsolved. South Yorkshire followed closely behind with 85% of theft going unsolved, Essex, Wiltshire, Sussex and Hertfordshire also all reported that at least 80% of car thefts were unsolved in the quarter ending June 2024.

By contrast, only 2.8% or just under 900 cases on average end with the criminal being charged or summonsed across the whole of England and Wales.

It follows previous Liberal Democrat research that revealed last year, police did not even attend the scene in over 70% of car theft cases.

The Liberal Democrats have blamed the previous Conservative government for these figures, arguing that years of ineffective resourcing has left frontline policing decimated. This includes the decision to take over 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015.

The party is calling on the government to urgently restore proper community policing, where officers have the time and resources to properly respond to neighbourhood crimes like car theft.

Commenting on the data, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said:

Tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales are being left without the justice they deserve, with a staggeringly high number of car thefts going unsolved, and thieves getting away scot free.

This cannot continue. Every victim of a crime deserves to feel safe and protected by the police, but unfortunately after brutal cuts to community police officers that is far from the truth.

We urge the new government to change the course by getting tough on crime, investing properly in local neighbourhood policing and keeping communities safe.

Davey: Social care commission “long overdue”

Commenting on the Government’s annoucement of an independent commission into adult social care, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

This announcement is long overdue. 2025 must be the year our politics finally rises to the challenge of fixing care – reforming social care and supporting family carers properly too.

This social care review must be cross-party if it is to credibly stand the test of time and help save our NHS, so it’s disappointing that the Government has failed even to consult on its remit. The measures to fix the immediate social care crisis left by the Conservatives lack the ambition needed to tackle the chronic shortage of trained care workers.

As a carer for most of my life, I know how crucial it is to see the links between family care, social care and our NHS.

Liberal Democrats have long been campaigning for a cross-party commission on care, so we of course stand ready and eager to bring our ideas to this commission, and to make sure the voices of family carers are heard throughout the process. The Government must now convince people they are genuinely ready to listen.

Davey: social care review should be “done and dusted within a year”

Commenting on the Health Secretary’s announcement of an independent social care commission and cross-party talks on social care reform, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said:

We welcome cross-party talks to build a consensus to fix our broken social care system, but we can’t afford to wait three more years for a new plan.

We’re really worried that what’s been announced looks like an excuse to kick the can down the road for another decade. That would be unforgivable for both the care of our elderly and disabled and our NHS.

I’d like to see this review done and dusted within a year at the most. Then we can finally move on with implementing much-needed reforms after too many years of inaction.

Of course Liberal Democrats will engage constructively in any talks, but we will press the Government to move far more swiftly and decisively, and to make sure the voices of unpaid family carers are not lost in this process as they have been too often in the past.

Flu admissions: alarming consequences from lack of winterpoofing

Responding to the “concerning rate” of people being admitted to the hospital with flu, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

The NHS was left without a robust winterproofing plan and the consequences have been incredibly alarming.

As ambulances queue up outside and patients queue up inside emergency departments across the country, people are facing dangerously long waits for medical help.

With the previous Conservative government leaving the NHS in a dire state, Labour should have intervened immediately to prevent hospitals being further overwhelmed. Instead, patients have been left to suffer.

We cannot let this situation spiral further out of control. The government must come forward with a plan to put in place measures to ease the pressure on the NHS as the Liberal Democrats have been calling for for months.

SNP have starved local communities of funding for public toilets

Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesperson Willie Rennie has today criticised cuts to local authority funding which have seen the number of public toilets fall by 25% since the SNP came to power and four local authorities no longer having any public toilet facilities.

Analysis of data uncovered through a Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request reveals that:

• Across the 18 councils which provided data for both 2007 and 2024, there has been a 25% decrease in the number of public toilets during this period.
• Across the 31 councils which provided data for both 2018 and 2024, there has been an 8% decrease in the number of public toilets during this period.
• Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk and South Lanarkshire now have zero public toilets.
• Highland Council has closed the largest number of toilets, with 37 having closed since the SNP came to power. Edinburgh has closed more than half of its public toilets.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Rennie said:

Since the SNP came to power public toilets have been shut down left, right and centre.

This is not just about public convenience. For some older or disabled Scots, a lack of accessible bathrooms can prevent them enjoying public spaces or getting out and about in their communities.

That’s a depressing state of affairs for our country to be in but it the inevitable consequence of the decisions that successive SNP First Ministers have taken over the past 17 years.

Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see local authorities handed real financial firepower to rebuild battered local services like public toilets and other essential amenities like electric charging points and waste disposal points.

Looking ahead there also needs to be a commitment from the next Scottish Government not to treat local authorities as second-class services.