The latest Immigration Statistics, published this morning, show that 51,906 people are waiting for an initial decision on their asylum claims, an increase of 33% since last year. 31,516 have been waiting for more than six months, a 68% increase.
People who've come to the UK having fled war or persecution should welcomed, not trapped for months on just £5.39 a day
No, I don't believe the world should 'go back to normal' That's what has got us into this place in the first place. We should take the opportunity to reset things. I believe in transforming our economy and way of life to support and enable a just, fair, transition to a sustainable, circular economy.
Scottish Liberal Democrat constitutional affairs spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain MP recently marked the first meeting of the new Scottish Affairs committee by calling for it to be a forum for scrutiny and reform and pressing for constructive relations between the UK and Scottish Governments.
The formation of the committee was previously delayed due to a dispute between the Conservatives and SNP over the membership of the committee.
The sudden change from the Prime Minister to abandon the stay at home message and to encourage people to go to work needs a full explanation if the public are to trust and follow him. We need to see the evidence and hear from the scientists as to what has changed.
The route map to gradually release the lockdown has some merit but the milestones need further scrutiny. There is a lack of detail on what the changes mean.
Jury trials are a pillar of Scotland's justice system, and have been for 800 years. The Scottish Government's recent plan to abolish them for the duration of coronavirus was poorly thought through.
The U-turn that followed the Scottish Liberal Democrats' intervention meant many in the legal sector could breathe a sigh of relief.
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today unveiled his party's plan for supporting front line health and social care staff through the coronavirus crisis, including expanding mental health support for frontline staff, expanded provision of personal protective equipment and a £29 per day active duty allowance.
Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Jamie Stone has secured cross-party support from 50 MPs for his letter to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport asking for a 'Happy Hour' of free phone calls.
According to Mr Stone's proposals, telephone networks would need to provide free calls for at least one hour a day for their customers over 75 years of age.
Yesterday the Court of Appeal in London ruled that an expansion to Heathrow airport was unlawful because a former UK Government Transport Secretary had failed to take into account the Paris Agreement on climate change when he was drawing up the National Policy Statement approving a third runway at the airport.
Today (27th February) the Court of Appeal ruled against building a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Having campaigned tirelessly on this issue for years, my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I are delighted with the decision.
This third runway would make it almost impossible for the UK to achieve net-zero, and we have a responsibility to lead the word in tackling the climate emergency.
Following the publication of the Government's Brexit negotiating strategy this morning, Scottish Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Beatrice Wishart MSP has warned that abandoning the Erasmus scheme will be a disaster for Scottish students and universities.
Section 21 of the document reveals that the UK will "consider options for participation in elements of Erasmus+ [after 2021] on a time-limited basis, providing the terms are in the UK's interests."
This suggests that the UK may seek looser membership of Erasmus as a 'partner country', which would mean less funding for British universities and colleges to offer student and staff exchanges. Instead, they would be reliant on their partners in EU member states to manage projects and funding on their behalf.
Universities have warned that partner country status will mean fewer opportunities to study abroad, higher costs, less influence over the future of the programme and a possible cap on the number of students who are able to take part.
Beatrice Wishart said:
"This will be a disaster for Scottish students and universities.
