Scottish Government's Programme for Government

This week, First Minister John Swinney set out the Scottish Government's Programme for Government, outlining what ministers plan to focus on over the coming year. For many people across North East Fife, the question is a simple one: will it make a difference to the challenges faced every day?

North East Fife is full of people who work hard, support their communities and want the best for their families. They deserve a government that matches that ambition and focuses on the issues that matter most to them.

That means tackling the crisis in social care so we can help fix our NHS. It means supporting households still struggling with the cost of living. It means finally restoring Scotland's education system to the high standards for which it was once known.

From the opposition benches, my Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP colleagues will continue to take a constructive approach. We will provide robust scrutiny where it is needed, but we will also work with others when common ground can be found. Politics should be about delivering results for people, not simply scoring points.

One of the most eye-catching proposals announced this week is the SNP's plan to reduce Scotland's health boards from 14 to just two. There is no doubt that reform is needed. Ambulance crews are regularly delayed outside A&E departments, patients are being treated in corridors and NHS staff are working under enormous pressure. But reform should be judged by one measure above all others: whether it improves care for patients.

That is why many people in rural and remote communities will be concerned that, when the SNP talks about reform, it too often means greater centralisation. Local people understand the needs of their communities best, and decisions should not be moved further away from the people they affect.

Here in North East Fife, we already see the challenges with communication and coordination between NHS Fife and NHS Tayside. As part of my work during the Summer Recess, I supported constituents by taking forward complaints that had arisen due to this lack of communication. It is difficult now, people are right to question how services will become more responsive when local boards are abolished altogether.

Large-scale reorganisations can take years to implement and risk distracting from the urgent task of improving frontline services. Communities should have a strong voice in the decisions that affect them, and local knowledge should be valued rather than sidelined. As the Government begins to implement its programme, that should be the test against which every proposal is judged: will it genuinely improve people's lives?