Business Support Grants for local businesses
As Bedford Borough enters the Coronavirus Tier Three - Very High Alert Level, businesses that are required to close will be receiving a business support grant.
19 Dec 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Pippa Heylings supports Cambridge Chamber of Commerce's call for immediate government clarity on Brexit
Parliamentary Spokesperson for South East Cambridgeshire, Pippa Heylings, supports Cambridge Chamber of Commerce's calls for immediate government clar...
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19 Dec 2020
Weekly Coronavirus Figures for Bedford Borough Published
The latest weekly coronavirus statistics for Bedford Borough have been published. Presented once again in easy-to-read infographic form, the figures show that in the seven days up to December 13th:
18 Dec 2020
More transparency needed on Council investments
Liberal Democrats are calling on Warrington Borough Council to be more open and transparent about their commercial investments, in line with the findings of a Government-commissioned review on the transparency of local government reporting. Our Finance Spokesperson, Councillor Ian Marks says:
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18 Dec 2020
MP leads cross-party group to urge Government to protect farmers by maintaining payments through Brexit transition
Local MP and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming, Tim Farron, is leading calls for the Government to protect family farmers by maintaining current farm payments until the new post-Brexit support scheme is rolled out in full.
18 Dec 2020
Sunbury Pool on schedule to open in the Spring
Remedial work is required The swimming pools at Sunbury Centre were closed earlier this year when a problem was identified with some of the pool tiles. The Council had to wait for the results of a full structural report to identify the cause of the problem but is now in the process of appointing contractors to carry out remedial work to safeguard this popular facility for many more years. The work is expected to be completed in the spring of next year and residents will be kept up to date with its progress. Your local Councillors have been in contact with Spelthorne Officers throughout the closedown to ensure that the work is progressed as quickly as possible. Whilst we wait for contractors to complete the work on the tiles we are also investigating refurbishment of the changing rooms and repainting of the area around the pools to give the whole area a freshen up. The Council said: "Will continue to work alongside local ward [Lib Dem] councillors Sandra Dunn, Tom Fidler and Lawrence Nichols to ensure the re
18 Dec 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!”
