Pointless Laws When is a legal right not worth the paper it is written on? Answer – when it is the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011. The SNP brought in this legislation to give each and every one of us a legal right to receive treatment within 12 weeks of treatment being agreed. According to an Audit Scotland report, in most parts of Scotland this right is being denied to patients. In ten Health Board areas, the right was not met. So what happens if Health Boards and the Scottish Government don’t meet their legal obligation? Is action taken against those who fail? No. Do patients have any opportunity to enforce their legal right? No. So why bother with legislation if there is no action taken. Alex Salmond needs to explain why the Scottish Government bothered to introduce legislation if it had no intention of enforcing it. And it’s not just on this where targets are being missed. Not a single Health Board in the country met the target of no outpatient waiting for an appointment for more than 12 weeks. 11 Health Boards failed to meet the target of no one having to wait at Accident and Emergency for more than 4 hours. Our staff in the NHS do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances. It’s not helped by the stupidity of politicians who pass meaningless laws giving legal rights which cannot or will not be enforced.

Scotch Whisky Action Fund Alcohol is a legal, regulated product. In moderation alcohol consumption can be enjoyable. Unfortunately we know that excessive consumption can be damaging to the individual, to families, and to the wider community.

The Scotch Whisky industry is renowned for the quality of its products and it is a world wide success story. It’s good to see the Scotch Whisky Association put some of the money generated by Whisky companies, into a fund to tackle alcohol related harm. From 2014-2018, £100,000 will be available each year to help charities and local groups which are working to reduce alcohol related harm. New projects can receive up to £10,000, and existing projects can receive up to £25,000. The first deadline for applications is 31st March 2014. If you know of a project which might benefit, contact my office for more details on 0141 848 7361 or email me at hugh.henry.msp@scottish.parliament.uk.