99% of £30m cycling bonanza goes elsewhere, courtesy of Barnet’s anti-cyclist councillors
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30 Jul 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Lib Dems call for urgent action on Social Care
Commenting on a Public Accounts Committee report which condemns the "slow, inconsistent and at times negligent approach" to the social care sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, Liberal Democrat MP and member of the committee Sarah Olney said:"The coronavirus has left people worried about their future and mourning loved ones. While we have relied on frontline staff to protect us, the Government's PPE shortages seriously let NHS and care workers down.
30 Jul 2020
Permitted development rights – stop the destruction of our suburbs!
It emerged this month that the government intends to turn our finely-balanced planning system into a free-for-all. According to an email sent to all councillors by Barnet's Director Planning and Building Control, the Tory government wants to allow homeowners to build up to two storeys above their properties, as long as neighbours approve. These new 'permitted development rights' are a recipe for monstrous and potentially unsafe house extensions; these eyesores will inevitably then be subdivided up into precarious HMOs (houses of multiple occupation).
30 Jul 2020
Cleaning Up in Church Hill
On Tuesday, Mark and members of the Church Hill Focus team took to the streets of Church Hill for the second time to do a spot of litter picking - this time focusing around Abberley Close and Sevenacres Lane.
29 Jul 2020
DERBYSHIRE POLICE STRUGGLING TO TACKLE FURTHER RISES IN KNIFE CRIME”, SAYS PCC CANDIDATE KATE SMITH
The Liberal Democrats are warning that overstretched Police in the Derbyshire Force Area are struggling with a surge in knife...
29 Jul 2020
Government gaps in support for freelancers leaving employers to pick up the tab
The Liberal Democrats have today urged the Chancellor to step in and support freelancers excluded from existing government support schemes. This comes after the announcement that the BBC will offer financial support to around 600 freelancers who they regularly employ.
29 Jul 2020
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!”
