Lib Dem leader calls for social media giant tax to fund mental health support

The UK Liberal Democrat leader has called for a trebling of the tax on social media giants to fund mental health support as he visits Scotland.

Ed Davey said the move would raise an extra £770 million for Scotland over the next five years.

He said the money should go towards dedicated mental health professionals in schools and GP surgeries and cut waiting times for patients.

He has said that trebling the Digital Services Tax would raise an extra £9.5 billion for the UK over the next five years, of which £770 million would be allocated to Scotland.

Davey made the comments ahead of a visit to Milngavie and Bearsden Men’s Shed on Saturday. It is in the Lib Dem target seat of Mid Dunbartonshire, which was held by former leader Jo Swinson before the 2019 general election.

Davey said: “The SNP have been too caught up in their carousel of chaos to deal with the real and serious issues people are facing like the mental health crisis.

“Right across Scotland people deserve to be supported by their local health services, for too long we have seen mental health, in particular, be neglected.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats are calling for a big expansion of mental health services across Scotland, funded by the social media giants who are such a big part of the problem.

“Above all, we need the ongoing melodrama from the Scottish nationalists to end so the Government can focus their time on delivering for the people of Scotland, not saving their sinking ship.”

The MP is visiting Scotland for the Liberal Democrats’ Conference and will be joined by Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Mid Dunbartonshire candidate Susan Murray.

He will deliver a keynote speech at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference in Hamilton later on Saturday.

His visit to a Men’s Shed comes after the Scottish Government announced it would reinstate funding for the charity earlier this week.

The Scottish Men’s Shed Association (SMSA) faced going bust after its funding was scrapped.

But Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced in Holyrood last week that it will be given funding for the next financial year.

Men’s Sheds – which is the largest mental health charity in Scotland – tackles loneliness and isolation among men.

It has 10,000 members across more than 200 sheds.

The organisation helps men set up shared spaces where they can learn skills, share experiences and make friends.

The new seat of Mid Dunbartonshire – where Davey is visiting – is largely made up of the current East Dunbartonshire constituency.

It is held by SNP MP Amy Callaghan who beat Swinson by 149 votes in 2019. Then SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon was filmed wildly celebrating Swinson’s loss.

Swinson had held the seat between 2005 and 2015, before being re-elected in 2017.

She was Lib Dem leader between July and December 2019.

The seat is one of the Lib Dems’ key targets across the UK and the Scottish party has been dedicating a large chunk of its time campaigning there.

A UK Treasury spokesperson said: “The Digital Services Tax already ensures social media companies pay their fair share. It is meant as a temporary solution while we conduct global negotiations to replace the tax with a new set of international rules ensuring the right firms pay the right tax in the right places.”

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