Wrekin parliamentary spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats Thomas Janke has called on the Wrekin's MP to back a campaign to reward NHS staff for putting themselves in harm's way.
Day after day, our NHS and care staff are putting their lives at risk to keep us safe and care for the critically ill, suffering from coronavirus.
Resurfacing of a key route in Bedford is to commence this month after Bedford Borough Council and contractors worked successfully to reduce road closure requirements and to meet government coronavirus working guidelines.
I know many of us are already helping others and volunteering in various ways - but I want to pass on an appeal we've had from the Uttlesford Food Bank. The need for the Foodbank has doubled overnight and they urgently need to replenish their supplies! They're going through food so fast it's unbeleivable and are now having to scale back the size of food parcels. If you go to their website at https://uttlesford.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/virtual-food-basket/ you can donate a virtual food basket in small, medium or family sizes. You can also make an online donation - cash is always welcome because they can use it to fill any gaps in their stock.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has brought so much of normal life to a standstill and addressing it has to take top priority for the government, a petition on the Parliament website calls for a delay to Brexit to ensure negotiations on the UK's future relationship with the EU are conducted under less extraordinary circumstances.
Worthen with Shelve and Chirbury with Brompton Parishes are working together to make sure we can all support our residents during this difficult time. We approached or local Posties who were all willing to distribute our information leaflet (attached above).They asked their local team leaders and all was fine.
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!”
