• Scottish Lib Dems secure £7.6 million in neurodevelopmental support as government announces funding
• Transport Secretary was “oblivious” about escape of flammable gas on embattled Arran ferry
• Scottish Government must respect will of parliament after it backs ferry compensation for coastal areas
• Murray backs parliamentary inquiries into party funding and Lord Advocate role in wake of Murrell embezzlement

Scottish Lib Dems secure £7.6 million in neurodevelopmental support as government announces funding

Responding to the Scottish Government announcing £7.6 million in funding to expand neurodevelopmental support, money which was secured by the Scottish Liberal Democrats in their negotiations during the 2026/27 budget, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said:

Scottish Liberal Democrats will always be the party of mental health, which is why we worked hard to persuade the government to make this important investment, and I am very pleased to see it being delivered today.

This money has the potential to make a big difference for children and families across the country, making sure that services get the funding they need to provide support.

From the opposition benches, with our newly expanded group of MSPs, we will continue to be the grown-ups of this parliament, providing strong and effective criticism, hunting for agreement where we can, to get things done for the people of Scotland.

Transport Secretary was “oblivious” about escape of flammable gas on embattled Arran ferry

Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie has said it is “unacceptable” that SNP Transport Secretary, Stephen Flynn, only became aware of a sudden and uncontrolled release of highly flammable methane gas on the Glen Sannox ferry, which occurred last year, when the MSP challenged him about it this morning.

During a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Transport Committee, Willie Rennie asked Mr Flynn whether he had been briefed about BBC reporting that highly flammable gas had escaped from the Glen Sannox in June last year while 82 passengers were on board.

In response, Mr Flynn said: “no”.

Mr Flynn also said that he would have to “familiarise himself” with the incident, and that he was not listening or watching the news before attending the meeting of the committee.

Director of Ferries and Ports for Transport Scotland, Chris Wilcock, also failed to provide an explanation for what had happened.

700kg of the gas, enough to fill a four-bedroom house, was vented from the side of the Glen Sannox for 12 minutes as it was sailing from Arran to the mainland. CalMac described it as a “critical failure”.

Commenting after the meeting of the committee, Mr Rennie said:

This was a significant incident involving an uncontrolled escape of highly flammable gas, on board a ferry that has been troubled for quite some time and which was carrying 82 passengers.

The Transport Secretary promised to be transparent, but it has taken a year before the public was told about this incident.

The details of what had happened were all over our national broadcaster from midnight last night, but Mr Flynn seemed to be oblivious.

It is unacceptable that the Transport Secretary did not know about this incident. It cannot be allowed to happen again.

Scottish Government must respect will of parliament after it backs ferry compensation for coastal areas

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for the Highlands and Islands Morven-May MacCallum has today said that the SNP government must now “do the right thing” and compensate coastal communities impacted by ferry disruption, after parliament backed a Scottish Liberal Democrat amendment calling for this funding.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat amendment called for the Islands Resilience Fund “to offer more funding, and sooner, to both island businesses and the coastal communities that have been consistently excluded from the scheme.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for the fund to cover coastal communities like Dunoon, Ardrossan and Mallaig, but the Scottish Government have so far refused to extend it.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Highlands and Islands MSP Morven-May MacCallum said:

I am extremely glad that the Scottish Parliament has backed my party’s call for ferry compensation to be extended to coastal areas.

It was Scottish Liberal Democrat campaigning on this issue that led to the Scottish Government introducing the Islands Resilience Fund in the first place, but we were concerned to see gaps in its eligibility.

As it stands, towns like Dunoon and Mallaig have been forsaken. They don’t see a penny in compensation, despite delayed and cancelled ferries hitting their local economies hard.

The Scottish Government must now do the right thing, respect the will of parliament and deliver this funding for coastal communities.

Murray backs parliamentary inquiries into party funding and Lord Advocate role in wake of Murrell embezzlement

Responding to confirmation that the UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee will launch inquiries into the dual role of the Lord Advocate, and into the financial regulation of political parties in Scotland, Liberal Democrat Scottish Affairs spokesperson and committee member Susan Murray MP said:

The recent case involving the embezzlement of funds by Peter Murrell, the SNP’s Chief Executive and husband to Nicola Sturgeon, has once again highlighted how strange it is for the head of Scotland’s prosecution service and the First Minister’s chief legal advisor to be the same person.

From decisions over whether to proceed with prosecutions, to questions over when John Swinney was informed about key decisions, there can be little doubt that this arrangement has put public trust under considerable strain.

While I respect the integrity of the recent Lord Advocates, I think it is prudent to scrutinise how this dual role is working and if improvements are due and for that reason I fully support an inquiry by the Scottish Affairs Committee into the Lord Advocate’s role.

The Scottish Government has consistently refused to demonstrate transparency on the Murrell scandal. Public trust in our politics depends on proper scrutiny and these inquiries can play a part in providing it.