Dundee Liberal Democrats - www.dundeelibdems.scot

Today I'm supporting a Private Members' bill to give people seeking asylum the right to work.

For me this is about the pride of we can all get from work - it's not just what we do, often it can define who we are.

As it stands, people seeking asylum who make it to Britain are only allowed to work after twelve months after submitting their claim for asylum and only if they can fill a job on the government's very narrow shortage occupation list (like ballet dancer, or nuclear waste decomissioner).

Speaking after the Education Secretary was grilled about P1 national testing by the Education & Skills Committee, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Tavish Scott MSP commented:

"These school tests are neither useful or standardised. Five year-old girls and boys are being tested at different times, in different locations with differing support. It is obvious to all, that this simply will not produce reliable or standardised results. This is just one flaw in an extremely poorly put together policy.

Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has today said that "Scotland needs more people" as she pressed the Secretary of state for Scotland over her campaign to lift the ban on asylum seekers working.

Under current rules, people seeking asylum can only apply to work 12 months after submitting their claim, and only if they intend to fill a role on the Government's very narrow 'shortage occupation list'.

Responding to the news that 106 new mental health staff have been recruited, of the 800 the Scottish Government committed to hiring between 2017 and 2022, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"Scottish Liberal Democrats secured the commitment to introduce hundreds of new mental health staff but the Scottish Government needs to pick up the pace.

The numbers don't lie. 2019 presents the biggest set of local elections for the Lib Dems in several years. Many of those candidates will be under the age of 26. That's where we come in.

I'm Charlie, campaigns officer for the Young Liberals - the party's youth and student wing. We want to see more young people getting elected - and that's why today we launched Young and Winning 2019.

Commenting after the Scottish Parliament voted on the tax rate resolution for the year ahead, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

"Our priority for this budget was for greater investment in local councils, mental health and teachers pay. Unfortunately the SNP chose to continue to put independence first.

Do you want to get our Brexit message to voters in your area? Check out our new bulk buy deals to find out how.

The deadline to order is Monday 25 February.

Commenting on today's A&E figures which show that more than 100 patients had to wait for over twelve hours and performance against the 4 hour target of just 85.8%, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"Our hardworking NHS staff are run off their feet. It's no wonder that hundreds of patients are waiting for hours on end.