GLDNEWS November 2020
Green Liberal Democrats November 2020 Newsletter
GM
29 Nov 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Lib Dems demand £1,000-a-year boost for 2,904 carers in Folkestone and Hythe
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to raise Carer's Allowance by £1,000 a year, to help support 2,904 unpaid carers in Folkestone and Hythe during the coronavirus pandemic.
29 Nov 2020
COUNCILLORS PLEA ON RURAL AND WILDLIFE CRIME
Councillors in the South West of the county have written to the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief constable asking for the urgent allocation of more police resources to the Countryside following a pronounced increase in rural crime during the pandemic.
29 Nov 2020
Dacorum Local Plan - the NINE answers you can use to comment
When you come to respond to the Dacorum Local Plan consultation, the response format is a form, with NINE "write your answer in the box and continue on a separate sheet" questions you can answer, in your own words, in order to provide your comments on the Plan.
29 Nov 2020
Dacorum Local Plan - the NINE answers you can use to comment
When you come to respond to the Dacorum Local Plan consultation, the response format is a form, with NINE "write your answer in the box and continue on a separate sheet" questions you can answer, in your own words, in order to provide your comments on the Plan.
29 Nov 2020
Jobcentre extended hours
From Monday 30th November 2020 Bedford Jobcentre will operate Monday to Friday 8.00am until 6.30pm. Face to face activity will be conducted between 9.00am and 5.00pm and the work conducted before and after these core hours will be telephony/digital based work coaching.
29 Nov 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!”
