Tackling mental heath requires more than just money.
Mental health is as damaging to individuals and families as physical ill health. It accounts for around 23% of all British...
TW
26 Sep 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Corbyn called out on his hypocrisy over Syrian refugees!
Manchester Opposition Leader John Leech has slammed Jeremy Corbyn's claims that he will tackle the Syrian refugee crisis as Labour's flagship council continues to reject them. In his keynote speech, Jeremy Corbyn said: "We will also make a far more determined effort to help bring the terrible war in Syria to an end, a war that has led to millions of refugees."
PO
26 Sep 2018
Tackling antisocial behaviour means sorting out dangerous parking too!
Antisocial behaviour - in law - is 'behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to...
PW
26 Sep 2018
Should more funding be made available for research and treatment of mental health issues?
Better investment in mental health care is essential to support our community from cradle to grave but, more importantly, investment must go to acting on findings to make positive changes.
CVD
26 Sep 2018
North East businesses concerned about impact of Brexit says new survey
The first North East business survey of Brexit views shows that more than half (52.4%) of business people in the region believe it will have a negative impact on their business, while just 14.1% see it being beneficial to them. Organised by the North East England Chamber of Commerce, the results shows the top three Brexit concerns are the cost of trade, changes to standards and regulations, and changes in access to EU funding.
25 Sep 2018
Mayor Dave Looks Back at a Summer of Events to Remember
Mayor Dave Hodgson has marked the official start of autumn by saying a big 'thank you' to everyone who helped make this summer an exciting summer of events across Bedford Borough.
25 Sep 2018
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!”
