London Liberal Democrat Councillors

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,

Ed Davey MP

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

(Image licensed under Creative Commons from DECC)

A panel established under the NHS’s Better Services Better Value review has recommended that St Helier should become the centre for planned surgery in South West London, but losing its Accident & Emergency (A & E) and maternity units.

The review was initiated by the local NHS not by the Department of Health. Decisions about healthcare are taken by the local NHS organisation not Ministers. In the event that the final decision taken was challenged it could be referred to the Secretary of State for Health for a final decision.

As local Councillors who have used the services of St. Helier hospital, we oppose this decision. Heather has already been particularly active in opposing it as a member of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for south west London. On 15 May we joined our MP Paul Burstow in a demonstration against the decision at St. Helier hospital (in the photo above you can see Heather, Paul and Richard in front of the hospital).

Paul Burstow, has raised serious concerns about the way in which the Better Services Better Value review, and the talks about a merger with St Georges, have been handled. Treated as completely separate discussions, in fact they directly impacted on each other.

At this point no final decisions have been taken. Whilst important, the panel’s recommendations are not binding and mark the beginning of a process which will include a public consultation, expected in early autumn.

Local LibDems have previously fought to save St Helier and in 2010 secured £219m to refurbish and rebuild the hospital.

Paul Burstow comments:

“This is a flawed conclusion from a flawed process. There is still a lot of water to flow under the bridge before final decisions are made.

The panel have ignored the pressure on all the A&Es and maternity units in south west London.

A cloud has gathered over St Helier but I believe we can mount a successful challenge to the assumptions that have led the panel to this conclusion.

We have saved St Helier before, and we will fight to do so again.”

Click here to sign our petition organised by local LibDems, on the website of Paul Burstow. [Click on the word "petition"]

Local traders and shoppers will now have a chance to have their say in a review of Labour’s controversial hikes in parking charges it emerged last week. The Council responded to Liberal Democrat demands for a full impact assessment of the doubling of fees for pay and display in Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Green Lanes shopping centres after councillors criticised Labour’s desktop review which had not consulted any traders or residents.

The review will now be delayed until July 2012 as the Council takes the views of local businesses and shoppers.

Drivers were forced to accept a doubling of parking charges in Crouch End, Green Lanes and Muswell Hill after the Labour Council introduced new charges in November 2010.

Cllr David Winskill (Crouch End) comments:

“I’m glad that the Council has finally seen sense to actually talk to local traders and residents to find out their experience of the doubling of parking charges in our shopping centres.

“It was completely nonsensical that Labour wanted to ignore the people that the changes affected most – this is a welcome u-turn. I urge all traders to take the opportunity to let Haringey know how these massive hikes in charges have affected their businesses.”

Cllr Gail Engert (Muswell Hill) adds:

“With difficult trading conditions we need to see what impact Labour’s hike in parking charges has had on our local economy.

“If the review shows that traders are being hit hard, the Labour Council needs to act to reduce these charges.”

. The Sun newspaper has declared Vince Cable to be their Westminster Hero of the Week. . HERO: Vince Cable, Business Secretary "These are long hard days of economic doom and gloom. The Eurozone is crumbling around our ears, Britain has lurched back into a double-dip recession and millions of hard-working families are struggling to make ends meet. So when a rare bit of good news for our economy emerges, it cheers us up immensely. Take a bow, Vince Cable. For the blunt-speaking Business Secretary has secured a fantastic deal that has saved Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire from closure. The decision by General Motors means £125 million of new investment and 700 extra jobs on top of the 2,100-strong workforce. And it all happened after Mr Cable jumped on a plane to Detroit in March to urge GM bosses to back the UK over Germany. Looks like it was well worth him going the extra mile. As his colleagues snipe over firms that are "not working hard enough", this Cabinet minister has quietly got on with his job and boosted business for Britain." We won't identify which Tory politician they chose as their Villian of the Week but you can read the full article here. Published and promoted by Sutton Borough Liberal Democrats, Room 2, Kennedy House, 5 Nightingale Road, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 2DNPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY

The latest planning application for 5 Bedford Road, South Woodford, was refused planning permission by the Regulatory Committee of the London Borough of Redbridge.

The decision has now been appealed to the Planning Inspectorate at Bristol.

The reference is W5780/A/12/2174482/NWF.

The closing date for submissions to the Planning Ispectorate is 12th June 2012.

More information is available on the Planning Portal of the Planning Inspectorate, together with details about how to make a submission.

The latest planning application for 5 Bedford Road, South Woodford, was refused planning permission by the Regulatory Committee of the London Borough of Redbridge.

The decision has now been appealed to the Planning Inspectorate at Bristol.

The reference is W5780/A/12/2174482/NWF.

The closing date for submissions to the Planning Ispectorate is 12th June 2012.

More information is available on the Planning Portal of the Planning Inspectorate, together with details about how to make a submission.

The latest planning application for 5 Bedford Road, South Woodford, was refused planning permission by the Regulatory Committee of the London Borough of Redbridge.

The decision has now been appealed to the Planning Inspectorate at Bristol.

The reference is W5780/A/12/2174482/NWF.

The closing date for submissions to the Planning Ispectorate is 12th June 2012.

More information is available on the Planning Portal of the Planning Inspectorate, together with details about how to make a submission.

On Tuesday 8th May, Waltham Forest council’s Planning Committee approved planning application to demolish the much loved Greyhound stadium to make way for a housing development. The decision by the four Labour members was met with fierce opposition from the campaigners and the local residents (1 Liberal and 2 Tory Councillors opposed the plans).

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats have written to London Mayor Boris Johnson, urging him to reject the application. Two local MP’s, along with Mr Johnson, are in favour of keeping the iconic dog track in the heart of Waltham Forest.

Both Heather and Richard have new responsibilities, following the changes to the Council’s committee structure after the annual Council meeting (where a new Mayor is elected) on 21 May.

With the abolition of the old Executive system, a set of subject committees are now the important decision-taking fora.

Heather is a member of the key Strategy and Resources committee, responsible for budgets and strategy. She is also vice-chair of the Adult Social Services and Health Committee.

As if that was not enough, Heather is a member of the South West London Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, in which role she has been heavily involved in the campaign to save services under threat at St. Helier hospital. Heather also sits on the Appeals Committee, and represents the Council on the Royal Marsden Hospital (Foundation Trust status) committee and the Executive Committee of Sutton Arts Council.

Richard is vice-chair of the Housing, Economy and Business (HEB) Committee, enabling him to continue his involvement in economic re-generation and planning issues, which are amongst his major interests. He is thus able to continue to work on the subjects he was involved in as a member of the former Economic Development Advisory Group and the Planning Advisory Group. The work of these groups is now drawn within HEB. He will continue to be involved in day-to-day planning decisions as a member of the Development Control Committee.  

As if that was not enough, Richard will continue to chair the Sutton Joint Health and Safety Committee (“joint” with recognised trade unions). As a former chair of the Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the principal European Union agency in this field, based in Bilbao in Spain, he could not really escape taking this on. He is a member of the Standards Committee and the Scrutiny Committee. He represents the Council on the Sutton Town Centre Partnership, the Friends of Whitehall (in Cheam), and the Downlands Countryside Management Project Steering Group, which amongst other things arranges for sheep to graze at various locations nearby.

Both will continue to represent residents on the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee.

More than enough to do !

The government is bringing back to life earlier talk about removing the rent subsidy for those in social housing whose household income is over £60,000. At the moment, rents in social housing are capped at 80% of the market value, but with around 34,000 homes in England occupied by families with a household income of over £60,000 the government is commencing a consultation on removing the 80% limit for them: Government research shows that as many as 6,000 social rented homes in England are lived in by people who earn a combined income of more than £100,000, including Bob Crow, leader of the RMT union. At the proposed £60,000 threshold, ministers estimate as many as 34,000 social rented homes in England alone would be affected. It is being stressed that no one would be evicted from their home, simply that they would have to pay higher rents. The government claims the economic subsidy provided by sub-market rents for social housing is worth £3,600 a year on average, or £69 a week. The total cost of this annual subsidy for those above the £60,000 threshold is £122.4m, and the annual subsidy for a £100,000 threshold is £21.6m. That £122.4 million a year is a significant chunk of money that could go on providing services for those who are really most in need. The risk is that removing the cap generates greater social division as communities become more polarised between rich and poor areas. Published and promoted by Sutton Borough Liberal Democrats, Room 2, Kennedy House, 5 Nightingale Road, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 2DNPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY