Peter Seib

Back in March, I attended the A303 Summit at the House of Commons. I was there to represent South Somerset and to support David Laws MP. Click here to see the leaflet produced to explain the issues raised and the state of play. If you have views, please make them known to me, to David or to Sam Crabb.

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)

(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.

SSDC’s net revenue budget is £16,577,000, a cut of £768,400 (or 4.4%) from 2011/12. This has been achieved in the face of significant cost inflation (e.g. fuel) and without any significant loss of front-line services. The Council’s share of the total Council Tax (for a Band D property) will remain at £150.74; which is 10 % of your total tax bill.

The full budget book can be downloaded from here. Alongside each service heading, it is made clear how the service is funded (business rates, council tax, grant, etc).

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/

At a packed meeting of South Somerset District Council held on Monday, the “Deposit Draft” of the Local Plan (formerly the LDF Core Strategy) was agreed. The debate about which direction Yeovil was going to grow in has divided local villagers (click here to see the report on www.peterseib.org) and has been widely, if not accurately, reported. Now that this has been resolved, businesses can invest and hopefully our economic recovery will rise to its full potential.

The next stage in the plan-making process is to polish the document and take it to public consultation ahead of a Public Inquiry. Then it can be adopted.

Yesterday’s meeting of South Somerset District Council was unusual. More than 60 members of the public asked to speak on the development plan for the district, almost exclusively on the plans to set a new direction of growth for the town of Yeovil. A long, well-publicised campaign by the East Coker Preservation Trust was attempting to prevent the direction being south and west, towards East and North Coker (and, potentially, towards Barwick).

Unfortunately for them an early East Coker campaign tactic, to push for a North West direction of growth, backfired spectacularly in the meeting with villagers from Chilthorne Domer, Montacute, Odcombe, Thorne Coffin and Lufton turning up to praise the Council, the methods it had used in making the plan and to refute, one-by-one, the arguments which the Coker campaign had relied upon.

The actual farmers involved pointed out that a NW option would mean much greater food production losses than for the Coker option. They refuted ECPT’s claim that Grade 1 land allowed double-cropping and criticised the way land had been managed to the south.

Historians pointed out that there were twice as many heritage assets in the NW direction and that Montacute and Ham Hill were of considerably greater value to the local economy than some ashes. Indeed in a poetic twist, Thomas Hardy’s words about the beauty of Vagg Hollow was contrasted with T.S. Elliot’s lines recognising development (specifically in East Coker) as a necessary thing.

For each “transport expert” who stood up and talked about the difficulties of Hendford Hill, an accredited transport consultant living in the NW stood up and pointed out that the NW option (and other options such as the “string of pearls”) would be even worse.

Business leaders spoke about the need for a positive plan, especially the attractions to potential inward investors of setting out a credible agenda. Church leaders spoke on the opportunity for community support and facilities. Engineers spoke on the advantages for controlling flooding, and so-on. Members of the public even praised the planning team (surely a first!).

Of course, for each of these an equally valid counter-claim was made but my point is that pure NIMBY-ism polarised the communities. It was only after 3 hours of this well-informed public speech-making that the Council’s own officers stood. The effect of the public debate had been profound, obviating the need to repeat many points and shortening the Council’s meeting (a second day had been anticipated). Furthermore, it was seen that the public engagement had clearly won over some opposition politicians (against a Conservative 3 line whip) and firmed up support among the Independents.

It was interesting to review the press coverage this morning. Although the coverage was carefully edited to avoid legal challenges, it was clearly trying to follow the “unfair plan” line of earlier coverage and ITV in particular have a single (protestor) interview on their web-site. They seem to have missed the 2 bigger stories: a NIMBY campaign resulted in pitching village against village and Chard, working a community-led, economically-driven plan right through the process and into the Local Plan, exactly what we all aspire to.

I hope that the public now engage in a similar way during the final public consultation on the deposit draft Local Plan, so that the inspector has evidence in front of him from all sides.

After consultation SSDC has decided to increase existing pay and display tariffs but will defer the introduction of Sunday and evening charges. The full statement is on the SSDC Website here

Although this is building pressures in the budget for future years (the car parks don’t yet pay for themselves, just the near term maintenance) it was felt that the effect on certain groups, such as town centre churches, was disproportionate and that it “sent the wrong message” to Yeovil’s town centre traders at this very early stage in the economic recovery.

Pleasingly, the decision to fund the shortfall out of “New Homes Bonus” means that the draconian cuts proposed by the Conservatives during the Budget debate will not take place. These cuts would have hit arts, charities and community groups hard. These cultural activities help to make South Somerset a pleasant place to live in and provide a welcome relief from the “work, work, work” of austerity.

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.