Dundee Liberal Democrats - www.dundeelibdems.scot

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today warned that integrated joint boards are failing and the Government has no answers as a new report from auditors warned of serious financial pressures and a lack of effective strategic planning.

The report from the Accounts Commission and Auditor General, Health and Social Care Integration: Update on Progress, warns:

Speaking ahead of a Scottish Parliament debate on diet healthy eating, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for an expansion of "social prescribing", including enabling doctors to prescribe free access to exercise programmes if they judge it will help the health and wellbeing of an individual.

Responding to the announcement by the Scottish Parliament's education committee that it will conduct an inquiry into standardised national assessments, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson and committee member, Tavish Scott MSP said:

"Parliament voted to end the testing of 5 year old girls and boys in Primary One. But the government have pressed on for another year. I think that is wrong but more importantly so do the primary one teachers I have met with.

"A People's Vote is now the only way to escape from this mess" - Vince Cable

Any Brexit deal will leave the UK weakened and the public poorer.

"And before the ink is dry, the Conservative Party will tear into what little Theresa May has been able to agree. The Prime Minister now faces a defeat in Parliament, as a majority will be hard or impossible to secure for what she has come up with."

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged the end of "interminable waits" for fatal accident inquiries following deaths in custody, in the wake of the tragic suicides of Katie Allan and William Lindsay.

Speaking after asking a topical question in the Scottish Parliament, Mr McArthur said:

During today's meeting of the Health Committee, which focused on the new opt-out organ donation system, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP appealed to the government to boost mental health services for organ donor recipients.

Dr Sue Robertson, Deputy Chair of BMA Scotland, who gave evidence to the Committee, highlighted the "huge amount of pressure" on patients with a failing organ and the negative effect it has on their mental health. She confirmed there was "too little resource applied to this group of patients" and said any increase in support would be "gratefully accepted".

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today highlighted a bombshell intervention from the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, Kate Frame, who has revealed a series of occasions in which Police Scotland wrongly categorised incidents in a manner which deterred independent scrutiny.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie has urged the Scottish Government to investigate the board at NHS Fife, headed by former Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick, after a string of high profile departures, citing the "real risk" to the delivery of healthcare at the board.

Commenting, Willie Rennie said: