Responding to the Deputy First Minister’s claims on the effectiveness of Covid IDs on today’s (November 10) Good Morning Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"John Swinney is picking and choosing his evidence on Covid IDs. The reality is, there is not a shred of evidence that his Covid ID scheme is keeping anyone safe.

“The Government is asking the public to blindly believe their words without giving them any proof. This is not fantasyland, their words must be backed by data and facts. 

"Covid IDs are an unworkable and expensive solution that is hurting businesses, while lulling customers who do jump through the government's hoops into a false sense of security.

Responding to reports in the Daily Record that a ​55-year-old man died after waiting five hours for an ambulance, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“My condolences ​go to the family and friends of Richard Brown. Stories like this are excruciating and, in some cases, fatal. Current waiting times clearly show that the ambulance service needs an immediate and transformational injection of resources and capacity.

Speaking as COP26 prepares to discuss transport (Wednesday 10^th November), Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has declared that the First Minister is a roadblock to progress on transport emissions, as he highlighted headline Liberal Democrat policies to counter SNP failings.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has this afternoon lead the first Scottish Parliament debate on long Covid after new figures published this week showed the number of people reporting experiencing the condition on 2 October soared to 92,000, up 13,000 on the previous month.  

Responding to the Deputy First Minister's Covid statement in which he announced that the Scottish Government is considering whether to extend the Covid certification scheme to further indoor hospitality and leisure settings, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP has today written to the Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg asking him to cancel recess and ensure Boris Johnson faces opposition parties for Prime Minister’s Questions tomorrow. 

Waiting times in A&E are continuing to slump in Scotland, as figures released by Public Health Scotland today show that in the week ending 31 October, 71.4% of people were seen within the four-hour target.

In NHS Lothian, just 68.4% of people were seen within the target time.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today called on the Scottish Government to hand back unprecedented emergency powers granted to it during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a consultation into making powers permanent closes (Tuesday 9th November).

Responding to remarks from Barack Obama's speech to COP26 in which the former President warned "we're living in a moment when international cooperation has atrophied—in part because of the pandemic, in part because of the rise of nationalism and tribal impulses around the world", Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Responding to today’s (November 8th) article in The Times, showing that the number of patients reported by Scottish Ambulance Service as experiencing "significant adverse events" have more than trebled this year, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said: