Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume today branded the Scottish Government’s decision to allocate an additional £10 million a year to mental health as “too little too late”, after urging the Finance Secretary to recognise that it won’t deliver the step-change in mental health that is desperately needed.

The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats has called on the First Minister to halt her party’s plans to press ahead with half a billion pounds’ worth of cuts to council budgets as local authorities up and down the country consider taking on the SNP’s council tax freeze.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Liam McArthur MSP has criticised the Scottish Government for cuts to college budgets as new figures published today show that since 2007 there has been huge fall in the total number of students enrolling in Scottish colleges.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes has today called on the Scottish Government to double the number of epilepsy specialist nurses (ESNs) in Scotland and take steps to ensure they are not tasked with clinical ward shifts leaving them unable to provide expert care for epilepsy patients.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott has welcomed news that the Scottish Government plans to slightly extend freedom of information legislation but has warned that by continuing to drag their feet, Ministers are failing millions of Scots who should be able to access information on how their country is run.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott has said that despite the Deputy First Minister's assurances today that he will look into how the Bellwin Scheme is administered, the review must take place quickly so councils are not left picking up the pieces after major flooding.

The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie MSP, has criticised the Scottish Government today for hyping up the financial support available to councils through the Bellwin Scheme, saying it does not grant much-needed financial support in the wake of serious flooding efficiently or quickly enough.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume MSP today warned that Scotland is facing an acute shortage of GPs as new figures revealed that the number of doctors taking up new GP training places has fallen substantially since 2010.

Common Agricultural Policy payments from the EU are hugely important to rural communities across Scotland. They help keep farmers and crofters in businesses and spill over into the wider rural economy as people buy the supplies they need.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes today said Scottish ministers are glued to their seats as communities across the North East are forced from their homes due to some of the worst flooding the area has seen.