Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis questioned health officials about funding for direct elections to Health Boards at a meeting of the Finance Committee today.

Commenting after the meeting, Mr Purvis said:

“Officials have failed to allay the fears of Health Boards that the £16.6 million cost of a roll-out of elections to Health Boards will be diverted from frontline services.

“The Scottish Government has failed totally to provide clarity on how their proposals will be funded. Health Boards remain concerned that the costs will have to be diverted from local front-line services.

“This is yet another reason why we believe that there are better ways to improve Health Boards’ local accountability.”