Lib Dems call for road safety to be a budget priority
The Lib Dems on Surrey County Council are proposing an amendment to the Council's budget to invest in tackling road safety problems across the county.
5 Feb 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Covid status report for the South Hams
Overall, Covid cases are down 22.8% in the South Hams, according to the most recent Government data, and this welcome trend downward manifests in most areas.
5 Feb 2021
The councils will not evade scrutiny over the Eco Park
Liberal Democrat Councillors are keeping up the pressure Unfortunately, due to the current Coronavirus Pandemic and the increased work pressures on Officers, the Extraordinary Overview & Scrutiny meeting to improve accountability over developments at the Eco-Park has had to be postponed. Whilst the Spelthorne Liberal Democrats are disappointed that the meeting originally scheduled for the 2nd February is unable to go ahead, they remain committed to getting answers for residents. Liberal Democrat members of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cllrs Tom Fidler, Lawrence Nichols and Richard Dunn have been proposing agenda items based on resident feedback. These include issues of smell, noise, the gases emitted from the stack, site developments and contractual operating arrangements. Commenting, Cllr Tom Fidler said: "Residents should know that we will not stop until we get answers on this important issue. The volume of responses we have received are going unnoticed and they deserve to get the answers. W
5 Feb 2021
Councillor Brazil is keeping in touch.
Covid measures have made it difficult for councillors to get out and about and keep up to date with how their constituents are doing and what their concerns are.
5 Feb 2021
Lib Dems call for road safety to be a budget priority
The Lib Dems on Surrey County Council are proposing an amendment to the Council's budget to invest in tackling road safe...
5 Feb 2021
Ward boundary changes - the Commission reports back
The Local Governement Boundary Commission has reported back on the submissions made by various people and organisations following their invitation to make suggestions on the ward boundaries for Derbyshire Dales.
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5 Feb 2021
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!”
