- Winter Fuel Payments: Hundreds of thousands more pensioners set to lose out
- NHS Scotland Stop Smoking Services fall short of target
- Cole-Hamilton challenges Health Secretary to tackle cancer crisis
- Worst ever homelessness figures on the SNP’s watch
- Jardine responds to GB Energy Aberdeen announcement
- Cole-Hamilton demands action on Highlands care home closures
- Just 3.2% of acid attacks in London have resulted in charge this year
Winter Fuel Payments: Hundreds of thousands more pensioners set to lose out
Responding to the latest Winter Fuel Payment statistics showing that there was a 214,000 increase in the number of recipients of the payments in the winter of 2023/24 compared to the previous year, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson Steve Darling MP said:
Hundreds of thousands more pensioners are now set to lose out on these desperately needed payments that protect so many from having to choose between heating and eating.
Cutting these payments for pensioners, which include millions who are just scraping by and are now worried about how they will get through the winter, is totally wrong.
It is not too late for this new government to change course and Liberal Democrat MPs will push them every step of the way to reverse these cuts and protect vulnerable pensioners this winter.
NHS Scotland Stop Smoking Services fall short of target
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has warned that efforts to deliver a smoke-free Scotland are falling short as new figures released today showed that NHS Scotland Stop Smoking services only achieved 74% of their target for helping people to stop smoking.
The new figures also reveal that only Western Isles and Dumfries & Galloway met their yearly targets. NHS Shetland and NHS Borders achieved less than 50% of their yearly targets, with Lothian, Lanarkshire and fife also performing poorly.