In my adjournment debate I spoke about 3 SEND children who all avoidably killed themselves in part due to local authority failures.
I support the Prime Minister’s view in favour of a negotiated settlement, given the risks of regime change, but it must include protections against retaliation for protesters.
West Scotland Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene has called for no further delays in restoring ferry services to Arran and Ardrossan after an announcement by the Scottish Government that the sale of Ardrossan Harbour is to proceed.
Responding to new figures showing that there were an estimated 231 deaths among homeless people in 2024, Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Paul McGarry said:
Following new statistics showing a record high level of delayed discharge, hundreds of people waiting more than a year for mental health support and thousands of nursing and midwifery vacancies, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP urge
Responding to new figures showing January 2026 to be the worst month on record at A&E, with only 65.1% of people attending A&E seen within the 4 hour target, while 19,806 (15.2%) people waited over 8 hours, a new record, and a staggering 10,374 (8%) waite
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!”
