East Renfrewshire Liberal Democrats

Corstorphine and Murrayfield councillor Paul Edie has been elected to lead Edinburgh City Council's Liberal Democrat group.

Cllr Edie has previously been praised for his work as the Convenor of Health, Social Care and Housing under the previous Lib Dem led administration.

Commenting, Cllr Edie said:

"I am delighted to be leading the Liberal Democrats on the City council. I am proud to be adding to the Capital's strong Liberal tradition.

"Edinburgh needs strong liberal voices especially as we are facing an emboldened administration with a large majority.

"Over the last five years, Liberal Democrat policies on this council have cut homelessness by 16%, crime by 24% and we built the first council housing in a generation.

"We opened libraries when Labour councils elsewhere were closing them and we reformed care services ensuring that people who needed care got it.

"We have much to be proud of during our time in power and I will be doing all I can to protect those achievements against centralising and cutting agenda of the other parties."

George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, has written to Richard Lochhead urging him to recognise the need to update the Pack Inquiry into how financial support can be tailored to Scottish farmers.

The Pack Inquiry findings were published before the European Commission published its proposals on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and, although the Pack Inquiry helped to guide the Commission's report, there is a need to look into how the new proposals can work in Scotland.

Commenting, Mr Lyon said:

"The debate over the reform of the CAP is moving rapidly and it is vital that we keep on top of recent developments in Scotland.

"The Pack Inquiry was timely in that it helped to steer some of the Commission's thinking over its findings that were published late last year.

"But the debate has moved on, and Pack must move on with it.

"There is an urgent need for a piece of work to be carried out to update the original Pack report to take account of the detail that we now know about. For example, we now know the details of how the flattening of payments will take place, there is also the new LFA top up we have to look at.

"The industry needs to know how these proposals might work at a practicable level in Scotland. We need a sequel to the Pack Inquiry."

Commenting as recent unemployment figures show a drop in unemployment, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie said:

"The drop in unemployment is welcomed, but it also indicates that more needs to be done.

"The Youth Contract will go some way to provide jobs for young people in Scotland.

"It is important that both Scotland's governments work together on a wide range of initiatives to tackle unemployment on all fronts."

Commenting on figures published in a Yougov/Quarriers survey today show 51 per cent of current and potential foster carers would foster a child with a mobility disability, Scottish Liberal Democrats spokesperson for young people Liam McArthur MSP said:

"Foster carers contribute hugely to our society, providing love and support for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in our community.

"These figures reinforce the need to encourage more people to put themselves forward as foster carers, a key theme of the upcoming Foster Care fortnight. However, they emphasise the particular difficulties faced by children needing such support who also have a disability.

"These are points I have raised with Ministers during previous parliamentary debates on meeting the needs of our looked after children. I hope Ministers will use this year's campaign to re-double their efforts to secure an increase in overall numbers of those willing to foster. As well as raising awareness, this will require better support and reducing the burdens on foster carers.

"There must also be a renewed focus, however, in ensuring the needs of those with disabilities are better met".

Commenting on the Scottish Government's response to the referendum consultation, which proposes that the Electoral commission will test the ballot paper, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie said:

"This is nothing new other than a desperate attempt by Alex Salmond to look reasonable whilst not changing his position one iota.

"Alex Salmond had previously conceded that the Electoral Commission would have a role in testing the question for the referendum so today's apparent concession is no concession at all.

"I agree with the Scottish Affairs Select Committee that all parties should be involved in setting the question to avoid any accusations of rigging.

"If Alex Salmond is serious about have a fair, legal and decisive referendum he should seek cross party support rather than determining everything himself."

Commenting on the independent review into the management culture of NHS Lothian, Scottish Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Alison McInnes said:

"It is sad that we are still reading reports which identify a culture of workplace bullying within the NHS.

"Various government-endorsed policies such at Dignity at Work have gone some way to combat this horrifying culture, but it is clear that more needs to be done.

"Dr Winstanley and NHS Lothian will have to work hard to remedy the issues identified in this report. Every person deserves to feel appreciated, happy and free from bullying in their workplace."

Bidding for Edinburgh's local TV channel is now underway after OFCOM confirmed that Edinburgh will be one of the first areas in the UK to have its own local TV station.

Commenting on the announcement, Edinburgh's Liberal Democrat MP, Mike Crockart said:

"This is good news for the capital. People want to be kept up-to-date with issues which are important to them and a local TV station for Edinburgh will make this possible.

"UK media has become over centralised and doesn't serve local areas the way it should. Today's announcement is a big step forward in bringing Edinburgh relevant home-grown programming.

"Of course we must make sure that the very many rural communities around Edinburgh, like Ratho and Kirkliston in my constituency, are included in the scheduling. There is a fear that programming will be centred on the city, neglecting the views of those in more rural areas."

MEPs today voted in favour of further cuts to the cost of using mobile phones, smartphones and tablets while travelling within the European Union.

From 1st July this year, making a phone call abroad will cost no more than 29 cents (24p) while texting will be limited to 9 cents (7p) per message.

For the first time, there will also be a cap on the amount charged for using data services while browsing the internet abroad. MEPs managed to negotiate a much lower price ceiling than originally proposed by the European Commission limiting the cost of using one megabyte of data to 70 cents (60p). This will eventually fall to 20 cents (17p) by July 2014.

MEPs also introduced structural changes to the mobile phone roaming market requiring operators to offer retail roaming services separately from July 2014 so that consumers can choose a different roaming service provider from their domestic operators without having to change mobile phone numbers or SIM cards.

Commenting after the vote, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland George Lyon said:

"It is great news that people travelling to Europe for business and pleasure will be able to benefit from even lower mobile phone roaming charges this summer.

"The cap on data service charges is an important first step to bring down the outrageous cost of browsing the internet abroad which is the main cause of nasty shocks for consumers returning home to hefty phone bills.

"These new rates will help ease the financial burden of making calls and roaming, which has become second nature to many whether at home or abroad."