Dundee East Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson Dr Clive Sneddon has today (7th March 2006) welcomed the report by a team of senior Liberal Democrats chaired by former Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer David Steel.
Conservative-run Surrey County Council today refused to maintain current funding to the county's voluntary sector, choosing instead to oppose a Liberal Democrat motion which had called for an end to the proposed £838,000 cut in funding. Fiona White, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Adults and Community Care, said after the meeting that the Tory amendment to the motion was "woolly" and had no funding substance to it on which the voluntary organisations could rely.
Dundee LibDem City Councillor for Tay Bridges Ward, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, has welcomed a commitment that pedestrian access along the north side of Riverside Drive will be safely maintained during construction of more than 200 flats on the site of the former Homebase store.
This Motion to Council is not an attempt to ignore the financial situation in which we find ourselves. Rather, it is a recognition of that situation and the need to get the best possible returns for the investment of the Council's money. Let me ask councillors a question. What sort of return do you think we get for every one pound given in grant to a voluntary organisation? Is it three pounds, six pounds, ten pounds? The information which I have gleaned leads me to believe that it is ten pounds or above; if so, the effect of the cuts will be more than £8 million in service provision. I think that any business would be delighted to have such a return on their investment and within a very short space of time.
More local people could afford to buy a house in South Lakeland if the Prime Minister agrees to a request by MP Tim Farron at Prime Minister's Questions tomorrow (Wednesday). Tim has been drawn first in the line-up for PMQs.
Local MP Tim Farron is in the midst of a tough training regime to make sure he is in good condition for his charity triathlon a week next Saturday. Tim has organised this triathlon in aid of the North West Cancer Research Fund and New Holehird and is looking for sponsors. Tim's triathlon will see him travel approximately 30 miles down his constituency by foot, boat and bike.
