York’s leaders have extended their support and solidarity with the people of Ukraine, following the start of the illegal and horrendous attack on the country.
Our local home is one of eight to be closed across surrey Staines South Lib Dem Councillor Chris Bateson writes: In a recent Focus Newsletter article, I expressed my concerns about the future of Meadowside care Home in Staines as had a number of local residents - and this week, Surrey County Council's Cabinet agreed to close eight residential care homes, include our local one. Lib Dem Councillors in Surrey have criticised the move which leaves the future of around 150 vulnerable residents in the balance with the risk they may end up being placed in accommodation further away from their family and paying more for the services they receive. Even though the majority of responses to a public consultation favoured the option to modernise and refurbish the care homes, the County Council decided to go ahead with a programme to close the homes before the end of 2024. I question how seriously the Council has taken the public consultation on closing these care homes, as the majority held view was ignored. The Counc
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Leader of Mole Valley District Council, Stephen Cooksey has set out an exciting vision for the year ahead, prioritising the wellbeing, prosperity and environment of all local residents and businesses.
The money, which was voted against by Conservative Councillors last week, will ensure the city's well-used roads can be properly maintained and tens of thousands more potholes can be filled.
The F&HDC Capital Strategy on which we have already voted, and I voted against, clearly contains massive - some may say huge -...
The Leeds Liberal Democrats want to make parking free for shoppers and workers in Market towns, while making parking more expensive for people who work in the city centre. They plan to do this by submitting an amendment to the Leeds City Council Annual Budget meeting. They also want to study how they can make businesses reduce their employee car use.
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!”
