Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have asked the Conservative-run County Council to make sure that none of the county’s vulnerable children go hungry t...
Councillor Tim Douglas (Paddox) has written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government following concerns from residents about proposed reforms to the planning system.
On 13 October 2020, Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Eastlands) raised the issue of broadband accessibility at Warwickshire County Council following concerns from residents and urged the Portfolio Holder to write to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to highlight the matter and issues around customer service.
Cllr Kirsty Lord, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, has called on West Sussex County Council to ensure West Sussex children don't go hungry in the holidays. In light of the decision by government last week not to support the provision of free school meals over the October half term, Cllr Lord has twice written to Cllr Nigel Jupp (Cabinet Member for Education) on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group to ask that West Sussex County Council doesn't let children go hungry. Cllr Lord has been supported by other Liberal Democrats, including Cllr Adrian Moss at Chichester and Cllr Alison Bennett at Mid Sussex who have called on their district councils to work with WSCC to provide support for our families
People seeking asylum are being frozen in poverty because they are banned from working. This doesn't make sense. The campaign to lift the ban on asylum seekers working while their claims are considered, signed by over 180,000 people, was handed in to the Home Office last week.
The Lincoln Project presents its music video for "Commander in Chief" by Demi Lovato
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!”
