West Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats

Herts County Council's Highways Panel has voted in favour of a new speed management strategy that will make it harder to introduce new 20mph speed limits.

At the moment, to introduce a 20mph limit without humps or similar traffic calming, the existing speeds must be 25mph or below in at least 90% of the roads covered. The new strategy changes this to require existing speeds below 24mph in every single road. It also introduces a policy of removing new 20mph limits if speeds remain too high after they have been installed for a year.

An Extraordinary Meeting of Herts County Council held this morning (Tuesday 17th November) agreed to provide support to vulnerable families and children receiving free school meals through the school holidays up to the end of the Summer half-term next year. In so doing, the Council recognised the growing seriousness of child poverty in society.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced a consultion to run from 9 November 2020 to 4 January 2021 about the possibility of a limited trial for heavier HGVs to carry containers of 48 tonnes laden along specified routes starting at a railfreight interchange.

The core of the proposal is for 6-axle articulated lorries run by specific operators to operate at 48 tonnes, while continuing to follow other existing rules, including maximum axle weights. These operations would:

The Liberal Democrat Councillors on Dacorum Borough Council are protesting against imposed government housing demands for the Borough which they feel are excessive, especially in their impact on Berkhamsted and Tring.

One of the DBC Councillors for Berkhamsted East, Nigel Taylor, writes as follows:

"The way the planning system operates is complex. The Central Government now sets targets for where it wants houses built. Then local Councils are, in effect, forced to produce a local plan to deliver the Central Government target. Recently the Government has increased the target for Dacorum Council from roughly 430 new houses (set as recently as 2013) to 922 new houses per year.

Wendy Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife.
Chief Whip and Spokesperson for Scotland, Wales and Work & Pensions

Originally from Greenock, Wendy has lived in Fife since 2003 with her husband and two children.

Following her degree in English from Edinburgh University, Wendy joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1999, serving for 12 years as a Police Officer. After a period in a variety of operational policing roles, she moved into HR and Learning and Development, during which time she worked for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and in the Business Management Unit of the Scottish Police College. During this period she also worked part-time as a Communications Lecturer for the then Lauder College (now Fife College) in Dunfermline.

Like other district and borough councils across the UK, Three Rivers District Council has been allocating government grants to local businesses to help cope with economic shock of the Covid-19 crisis.

Cllr Roger Seabourne who represents the Penn & Mill End Ward commented, ''We value our small businesses who contribute to our economy and community. The last few months have been very challenging and we will keep trying to help local businesses, I am pleased that the Council was able to help so many businesses to cope and hopefully bounce back''.

By the end of the Summer, Three Rivers District Council had successfully allocated £11.44m to 820 businesses in the form of government grants to help cope with economic shock of the Covid-19 crisis.

Cllr Dom Sokalski, the Three Rivers District Councillor for Dickensons Ward added, ''Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local communities, providing not only jobs but also goods and services to residents right where they live."

A draft new law, setting legally binding targets for cutting plastic waste and pollution, was re-introduced to Parliament on 5^th November, 2020 by Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael.

Despite intense public concern about the scourge of plastic pollution over the past three years, and a number of welcome initiatives by companies, far tougher action is needed by the UK government to tackle the problem comprehensively.