Category: Campaign Responses

I am proud to support Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland and their many excellent services, including the Hospital to Home service which is an incredible asset to those making the difficult transition from returning home after hospital treatment. The SNP has made important progress whilst in Government, such as the development of the Stroke Improvement Plan and the Heart Disease Action Plan based on in-depth consultations with charities, researchers and experts in the field.  As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have an opportunity to rebuild services which work even better for patients. This is why the SNP is prioritising health services in this election. If re-elected, we will continue to advocate for the importance of providing additional support to people affected by chest, heart and stroke conditions and…

Abortion is a legal right in Scotland and the SNP will protect that right. The party has no plans to restrict existing abortion legislation. We are clear that those accessing abortion services should not be targeted for choosing to access this right.  The SNP will support any local authority who wishes to use their powers to establish by-laws to create protest-free buffer zones outside clinics that provide abortion services. Fiona Hyslop

The SNP Scottish Government has prioritised food security before the pandemic due to the harmful impacts of Tory Government welfare cuts, and will continue to do so through the recovery from the Coronavirus crisis.  Over the past year, the SNP Scottish Government have allocated over £1 billion to help people and communities in Scotland impacted by Covid-19, including:  making over £140 million available since the outset of the pandemic to tackle food insecurity including boxes for those shielding and around £51 million to continue Free School Meal provision during school closures, holidays and periods of online learning up to Easter 2021; putting £14.4 million in the pockets of families for over 144,000 children through our £100 COVID Winter Hardship Payment – with £16.8 million committed for a further spring payment, reaching…

Locally, when I was the MSP, I intervened to secure support to deliver the Cycle path which is currently being built to connect Whitburn to Armadale and the rail station there. In Linlithgow I have been a keen supporter of the Cycle Circuit Plans for Kettil’Stoun Mains, convening a meeting of national funding bodies to help them see the great potential of this community led initiative. If re-elected, the SNP will investing over £1 billion per year in public and sustainable transport to encourage people to use public transport and active travel modes. The SNP Government increased the active travel budget for 2020-21 to a record £100.5 million, an increase of nearly £20 million over 2019-20 and which equates to an investment of over £18 per head of population. By…

I am proud to support Stroke Association and their great work in providing care, treatment and advice to those affected by stroke. The SNP Government developed the Stroke Improvement Plan to deliver improved prevention, treatment and care for all people in Scotland. The decrease in both mortality rates and the rate of new cases of stroke between 2008 and 2017 show that our strategy for tackling stroke is delivering important improvements for patients. Although significant progress has been made, the stress of Covid-19 on health services means that enhanced treatment is required to deliver the best possible health and social care. With Nicola Sturgeon as your First Minister, the SNP has pledged to create a National Care Service, backed by increasing investment in social care by 25%. This will be…

The SNP have delivered 96,750 affordable homes since 2007, nearly 67,000 of which were for social rent, including 14,661 council homes. If re-elected, the SNP will deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes by 2032 with at least 70% of these for social rent. Once the current 50,000 affordable homes target has been delivered, we will meet this new target through a combination of new build homes and bringing existing housing stock back into use. This will support around 12,000 to 14,000 jobs each year. The SNP has committed to developing a new Rented Sector Strategy in 2021. This will provide greater protections from unreasonable rent increases, give people affordable choices when renting, and increase protections for tenants. As a part of this, the SNP will reform existing Rent Pressure Zone…

If re-elected, the SNP will take forward the recommendations of the independent Feeley review into social care and create a new National Care Service for Scotland. The independent review of social care gives us a clear road map, with 53 recommendations for the future of care provision in Scotland. Among the Feeley review recommendations is the creation of a National Care Service and the scrapping of non-residential social care charges – and we’re going to deliver. If re-elected, the SNP will;  create a National Care Service with the same esteem as our fantastic NHS;increase investment in social care by 25%, over £840 million; andintroduce a National Wage for carers and national pay bargaining for social care staff.  The SNP have already taken a number of important steps to improve social care through…

Wildlife, natural habitats and biodiversity are one of Scotland’s largest social and cultural assets. Under the SNP-led Scottish Government, we have taken several crucial steps to protect our environment. As a climate leader on the world stage, we have already played a special part in international negotiations on the new global biodiversity framework, leading to the publication of the Edinburgh Declaration. The twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change means that the next Scottish Government must go further. The SNP is the only party with bold and progressive policies to protect and expand Scotland’s natural environment. If re-elected, we will invest an additional £500 million in our natural economy to help tackle the biodiversity crisis. This significant investment sits within a wider framework for climate policy such as doubling…

The SNP have long campaigned for better regulation of digital campaigning, and will continue to do so. We have sought to tackle Tory dark money, and unlike Labour, the Tories, UKIP or the Lib Dems, we have never been penalised by the electoral commission for overspend. As a party we campaign from donations from our members. We have campaigned hard to have the Tories held accountable for dirty money spent during the EU referendum. The SNP are committed to the importance of respect in online campaigning.  The SNP will always campaign to defend, protect and respect our democracy. In the Scottish Parliament, we have not only given the vote to EU citizens and 16 and 17 year olds, but extended the franchise to all those who live here, regardless of immigration status,…

The impact of Covid-19 on cancer patients has been a priority in the SNP Scottish Government’s planning.   The majority of cancer treatments have and will continue throughout the pandemic, and screening services have also resumed in a phased, careful and prioritised way, as part of the remobilisation of the NHS in Scotland, with prioritising the safety of screening participants and staff as we deliver the national screening programmes during and beyond this pandemic.  The SNP Scottish Government is absolutely committed to detecting cancer early to save lives and has invested £42 million into our Detect Cancer Early Programme to raise awareness of potential cancer symptoms.  The SNP Scottish Government have also invested £10 million to support access to cancer services including diagnostics and staffing; and have utilised private sector capacity…