As a result of the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19, the leisure sector across the country has faced significant difficulties as organisations worked to reopen leisure centres in a safe and financially viable way.
The Liberal Democrats have called for an "emergency recruitment strategy" for frontline workers after revealing a third of health visitors across hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups have been cut since 2015.
IT IS MUCH MORE CONVENIENT TO VOTE BY POST SO WHY NOT APPLY NOW? We are fortunate to live in a country where voting fraud is rare and we are not only able to register for a postal vote but be fairly certain that our ballot paper will arrive in time and subsequent cast vote will be efficiently processed by our postal service.
Bedford Borough Council is urging any businesses that may be eligible for support through a discretionary business support grant to get in touch by Friday 28 August.
Welcome to our latest update, responding to developments since Friday 31 July.
The long-awaited project to restore rail connections between Oxford and Cambridge and then on to the East Coast has been underway for some years and is now moving slowly through the next phase. This will bring the prospect of an easy public transport route for residents in Berkhamsted, Northchurch and Tring to either Oxford or Cambridge within sight. By using a regular bus to Aylesbury and then accessing rail services over rebuilt lines passengers could then reach Winslow, Bletchley, Milton Keynes and Bedford. Alternatively they could travel by train to Bletchley as usual and with one change reach Bicester, Oxford and beyond or Bedford via the Marston Vale Line.
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!”
