Health is the hot topic for public when writing letters to ministers

HEALTH issues are the most common subjects raised by members of the public with Scottish government ministers.

According to details released yesterday, more than 400 letters related to hospital services and a further 154 outlined complaints between July last year and June.

The statistics emerged in tables requested by the Liberal Democrats showing the most popular subjects raised with First Minister Alex Salmond and each of his Cabinet secretaries.

The largest number of letters received by justice secretary Kenny MacAskill related to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon's top issue covered complaints about hospitals in Glasgow and the Western Isles.

Environment secretary Richard Lochhead was sent most letters about the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill.

The government said the details were over and above correspondence received in consultation exercises or as part of organised campaigns.

Lib Dem chief whip Mike Rumbles seized on the figures, saying independence was not high on the agenda. He said: "The First Minister must be getting a bit hot under the collar given his ambition to fight the next Scottish elections on independence. This will be a steep uphill struggle for the SNP."

A spokesman for the First Minister said Rumbles was being "absurd", adding: "The issues of a referendum and the National Conversation appear in the list precisely because they are both in the top five subjects raised most often by members of the public in correspondence with the First Minister."