Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur MSP has slammed the Scottish Government as they once again failed to confirm that a replacement for the Erasmus student exchange scheme will be in place by next September.
Today, Mayor Dave Hodgson visited the Sri Gurdwara Sahib Ji Ramgharia Sikh Society to commemorate the foundation stone laying for a new Gurdwara on Ampthill Street.
By the end of this week, we will have heard about the latest attempts by the Chancellor to put the economy right. Our Liberal Democrats' residents surveys indicate that the economy and jobs, together with the NHS and climate change are the three top national priorities, irrespective on how you vote. These three are closely related. Whether the government can manage the three to the benefit all is open to question. The Conservatives have lost all semblance of economic competence. In short. they have introduced their own ideological version of Corbynism.
Labour has watered down its GP target from 200 a year to 160 a year to give the impression they are preforming better than they are. If we are to solve the crisis in our NHS, making sure people can see GPs before they deteriorate in health is essential.
Highways engineers have confirmed that the long-awaited installation of a CCTV security system at the Church Road subway will take place next week.
Earlier this week the Government announced the reopening of the Warm Home Discount scheme which will provide a discount of £150 off electricity bills for three million low-income households this winter.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, called on the government to provide incentives for energy providers to develop solar power in the UK.
Mrs Hobhouse slammed the government for falling behind on meeting the UK’s renewable targets for solar energy capacity. The government plans to deploy 70 GW of solar power across the country by 2035. However, as of 2022, the UK had only installed 14.3 GW of solar pv.
Following a visit to a rooftop solar system installed by Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE) at Beechen Cliff School last year, Wera Hobhouse is keen to encourage the development of similar solar projects across Bath. The solar system is predicted to significantly cut the school’s fuel costs and reduce their carbon emissions by 52 tonnes a year.
In the House of Commons on the 27th February, the Bath MP noted that the UK is lagging behind the rest of the world in renewable energy investment, she urged the government to offer incentives to energy providers to improve solar capacity.
However, Andrew Bowie, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, ignored Hobhouse’s proposals, failing to describe the ways in which the government could incentivise solar energy. Instead, Bowie said that the government’s Solar Taskforce would publish recommendations for solar power and reiterated the government’s target to deploy 70 GW by 2035.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, commented:
“The Conservatives are falling dangerously behind on meeting our targets for renewable energy production. It is no good the government setting an ambitious 70 GW solar target if they are nowhere near reaching it.
“It is clear that they have no plan to get us back on track to reach Net Zero. Evidently, they are more than happy to dismiss perfectly good proposals like incentivising solar power. That is why I am so proud that Bath is home to many community energy projects like the solar system at Beechen Cliff School, so that we can lead the way in renewables.”
“It is not just our climate targets harmed by the Conservatives’ delay. Families in Bath and across the country are struggling to pay soaring energy bills which investment in renewables could curb. That is why we Liberal Democrats would build significantly more renewable energy, aiming to generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030.”
Peter Capener, Managing Director of Bath & West Community Energy said:
“Our work with schools is really demonstrating the value of community energy in both addressing the climate crisis and reducing fuel bills. Rooftop solar installed last year has already saved local schools a combined total of £134,209 and has reduced carbon emissions by 224.3 tonnes, which is equivalent to 12,173 journeys from Bath to Edinburgh by train!”
