Lawrence Oliver

At the launch of the new Draft Bill on energy, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State of Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, writes:

Over the next decade, around a fifth of existing power plants are due to close, against a background of increased energy demand and increasing prices. We need new investment simply to keep the lights on.

But more than that, we need a clean energy revolution to meet our ambitious climate change goals and make this the greenest government ever.

That’s why I am bringing forward a new Energy Bill today.

You can read more about our clean energy revolution here.

We also need to transform our energy market to reduce the risk and cost of low carbon technologies.

That’s what our Bill does.

The UK is fast becoming a world leader in renewable energy, especially in off shore wind. I want us to lead the world in Carbon Capture and Storage too.

And we are also tackling rising energy bills. Without reforming the energy market bills will rise by around £200 in the coming years. Our reforms will mean bills are around 4% lower than they otherwise would have been.

Going green is good for the economy, good for Britain and good for you.

Yours,

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

(Image licensed under Creative Commons from DECC)

Work on converting around 70% of street lights in North Herts to turn off between midnight and 6am starts on 21 May in Letchworth, with work in Hitchin startinglater in the week. Baldock, Royston and the villages follow, with all the work expected to be completed by the end of June.

Street lights in town centres, on main roads and at some junctions will be left on. So will some lights which are not owned by the County Council.

But local people are not allowed to know which these are.

At the moment nobody except the County Council and the County County Councillors knows which lights will be left on and which will be switched off (although some County Councillors have consulted District Councillors others have not bothered).

(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.

The County Council has started the process of deciding which street lights in North Herts will be turned off between midnight and 6am.

All the district’s County Councillors have been given maps showing which lights are to be turned off in their areas, but the public are not allowed to know until after the  County Councillors have agreed to the proposals. Some County Councillors have said that they will consult with District Councillors, but there will be no other consultation.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with turning off many street lights – it will save money and energy – there are some that need to stay on. The idea that the County Council knows best about every street light in the district is plainly absurd. Liberal Democrat councillors tried to get a proper consultation process, but the Conservatives blocked this.

We will provide details of what is proposed as soon as we are able to.

Herts County Council has introduced a new system for report of highway problems such as pot holes on line, but the new system has two important drawbacks:

• It’s much more complicated to use than the old system
• It often doesn’t work

The Executive Member for Highways admitted at a recent county council meeting that they hadn’t bothered testing the new system and that it did things it wasn’t supposed to.’

North Herts Council has agreed to go ahead with the changes to Hitchin Town Hall that will see it house the council’s museum and a range of community facilities – subject to resolution of a number of detailed issues.

This has taken the council considerably longer that was expected. Lib Dem councillor Lawrence Oliver has been asking searching questions about the delay and was told last autumn that the council would be ready to go ahead in January. Now it looks like being at least June before the final details are agreed.

Since the scheme will be a real benfit to Hitchin – and will save the council money – we have to hope that the next stage (the implementation of the proposals) does not slip in the same way.

This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease.

One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor.

You can find more information about coughing and lung cancer at the Department of Health website, here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/coughing-could-be-a-sign-of-lung-cancer-2/

With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight on the lives of far too many of our families and an early diagnosis can make all the difference. Please take the opportunity of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to find out more about prevention and diagnosis, and to visit your local doctor if you’ve had a persistent cough – it is always better to be safe than sorry!

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/tag/be-clear-on-cancer/

Helping communities to do more

There are many things that the council does or gets involved in that would be better done by community groups – such as running halls, allotments and other local facilities. Where the council has helped local people to do this they have done a better job than the council, usually at a lower cost.

Unfortunately the council often raises all sorts of objections rather than helping schemes like this get off the ground. A Liberal Democrat council would work with local people on projects like Bancroft Hall in Hitchin, Baldock Town Hall and traders in Letchworth who want to fund free car parking.

Delivering better value for money

After many years the council has at long last stopped putting up the council tax every year and has started to make some of the savings that Liberal Democrat councillors have been calling for. But North Herts still has amongst the highest council tax in Hertfordshire.

This year the council will save more than half a million pounds and most local people will see no difference in the services provided. These savings could have been made years ago but the Conservatives did nothing about this until the coalition government forced them to. Also there is still too much being spent on computer systems that do not deliver benefits and delivering mounds of paper by courier to councillors when it could all go by email.

A Liberal Democrat council would cut spending faster on “back room” functions that do not affect local services and share work with other councils faster to save more.

Introducing doorstep plastic recycling

North Herts has been successful at increasing recycling but many people think that the door to door collections should include plastic recycling. The Conservatives say this is not possible, yet 8 out 10 councils in Hertfordshire manage to do this.

 A Liberal Democrat council would introduce doorstep plastic recycling here too.

Herts County Council is to pay back £935,000 collected in invalid fines after failing to follow the proper process and install the correct signs on a bus lane in Hemel Hempstead. They were told in August 2011 that they had made several mistakes but insisted on continuing to collect the fines rather than fixing the problem until a tribunal forced them to stop.

Now they have to give the money back to the people they fined – but since they paid most of it to an enforcement company they will have to find an extra £800,000 – of our money. That’s £800,000 that they now cannot spend mending the roads.

Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year.

Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils’ record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

“While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax.

“Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing the burden.

“The choice in next month’s elections is clear: vote Liberal Democrat for financially responsible councils that create jobs. Vote Labour and the Tories for waste, mismanagement and tax rises.”

As well as freezing council tax across the country, Liberal Democrat councils are protecting front-line services, fighting to keep libraries and Sure Start centres open. This is in addition to the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government, which after the Budget include a £130 income tax cut for all working families, the largest-ever rise in the basic state pension, an increase in child tax credits for the poorest families, and an increase in the Lib Dem Pupil Premium to £600 for every pupil receiving Free School Meals.

At every level of government, the Liberal Democrats are cutting taxes for low- and middle-earners and better targeting help to those that need it the most. It is a record of financial responsibility of which we can be proud.