Reading Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has announced a £1 billion pound Youth Contract to tackle youth unemployment, which aims to ensure that all jobless young people are earning or learning again before long-term damage is done.

In Reading 935 18-24 year olds are currently in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance and would stand to benefit from the Youth Contract.

Starting next April, the Youth Contract will provide at least 410,000 new work places for 18 to 24 year olds into work over the next three years. This includes 160,000 wage subsidies and 250,000 new work experience placements.

The Youth Contract is a new programme to will help 16 and 17 year olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs).

This will helps young people not currently in education, employment or training (NEET) get back to school or college, onto an apprenticeship or into a job with training.

In addition, there will be at least 20,000 more incentive payments to encourage employers to take on young apprentices in England.

Commenting, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Reading Borough Council, Cllr Daisy Benson said:

“Although youth unemployment in Reading is lower than many other areas and has fallen recently, the number of young people out of work in our area is still too high.

“Young people are our future and we need to do everything we can to help young people in Reading who are currently out of work to find work.”

“The Youth Contract, announced by Deputy PM Nick Clegg will help those who need it most through advice, support, training and by giving people in Reading the experience necessary to be successful in the work place.

“This is another example of Liberal Democrats in government taking action on the issues that matter and working to give all youngsters a chance to succeed.”

“As someone who campaigned to highlight the shocking rise in youth unemployment under Labour and as a Liberal Democrat, I am proud that the Coalition Government is doing all it can to prevent another lost generation.”

Commenting further, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said

“Youth unemployment is an economic waste and a slow-burn social disaster.

“We can’t lose the skills and talent of our young people – right when we need them most. We can’t afford to leave our young men and women on the scrap heap. We need the next generation to help us build a new economy.

“The aim of the Youth Contract is to get every unemployed young person working or learning again before long-term damage is done.

“This is a £1bn package and what’s different about it is that it gets young people into proper, lasting jobs in the private sector.”

Liberal Democrats on Reading Borough Council have today written to Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Climate Change Chris Huhne calling on him to rethink the government’s decision to cut solar feed-in tariffs.

In a letter to Mr Chris Huhne, Cllr Ricky Duveen, Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, speaking on behalf of the Lib Dem Group on Reading Borough Council writes:

“We are writing to protest in the strongest possible terms at the changes proposed by the government to Feed In Tariffs.

In doing so we are writing in support of colleagues in Friends of the Earth, the LGA Liberal Democrat Group, and Green Liberal Democrats in raising serious objections to the proposals led by your department.
This is double whammy for sustainable energy and for green jobs here in Reading and elsewhere. In turn it risks undermining David Cameron’s pledge that this will be the ‘Greenest Government ever.’

Cllr Duveen continues:-

“Last year, Liberal Democrat councillors on Reading Borough Council (part of a Coalition administration) instructed officers to work up a programme based on the Feed in Tariff scheme and budgeted for a major investment in solar energy by the Council, both as something that would benefit council tax payers and as an exercise in leading by example.

“A delay to our scheme, caused by the incoming Labour administration, has meant that it has fallen victim to the reductions you announced and the premature ending of the tariff on which our scheme was based. As a result of these it is now not possible to proceed with this important Liberal Democrat initiative because of the guillotine imposed on commissioning.

Cllr Duveen concludes:

“The plans unveiled by the new administration in August to install large numbers of environmentally-friendly solar panels on a number of council owned buildings which attracted cross-party support would have produced green energy and cut energy bills, passing on significant savings to the public purse and the Reading taxpayer.

Whilst we understand that the scheme may have been too successful in the government’s view and the effects of the falling costs of installation, it could have been reduced much more gradually and preserved an industry and many schemes, like ours, which were at an advanced stage of planning. We therefore urge you to review the end date and allow schemes that are already well advanced to still qualify for the tariff.

As Liberal Democrats and local councillors we urge you to reconsider these drastic changes to FITs and allow Reading Borough Council to complete the ambitious programme initiated by us which will deliver real benefits for residents in Reading.”

Liberal Democrats in Reading have called into question Council figures showing that bus lane fines have sky-rocketed under the latest Labour administration.

Labour’s assault upon Reading motorists was recently revealed in a Council report showing that the amount of bus lane fines issued under the Labour-run Council has risen by as much as 277%.

Reading residents have also expressed alarm to local Liberal Democrats over the level of contempt shown for voters by the Labour Lead Councillor for Transport after he called motorists “stupid”.

Whilst in coalition locally, Liberal Democrats tried to create a sustainable and fair budget, not one built upon punishing motorists as an easy target and in effect introducing congestion charging by the back door.

What Labour refuse to admit is that they are using exorbitant fines for motorists – already hit hard with rising petrol prices – to plug gaps in a balanced budget which they inherited from the previous coalition, but have since squandered after coming to power. One example being their hesitation to implement our adult social care changes, more out of an ideological desire to discredit Liberal Democrats, rather than an evidenced-based attempt to address real problems in our community. This inaction has already cost Reading tax payers thousands of pounds in delays, and this is on top of the costs of their review of our proposed changes.

Members of Reading Borough Council’s Council Group have backed calls by Reading’s Gurkha Community for pension parity.

Former Mayor Cllr Peter Beard who has actively campaigned alongside local Gurkhas and their families and is heavily involved with the Reading-Based Forgotten British Gurkha Charity spoke strongly in support of the motion declaring support for the Gurkha’s canpaign for pension parity at the Council meeting on 18 October.

Cllr Daisy Benson has written to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP and Lib Dem Defence Minister Nick Harvey MP calling on them to back the Gurkhas.

Residents are urged to sign the petition on the Direct Gov website.

Lib Dems on Reading Borough Council have spoken out in support of plans for a support centre for LGBT community in Reading.

Speaking in the Council debate on 18 October, Cllr Daisy Benson, Group Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Reading Borough Council said:

“I would like to thank Lorna Macardle Chair of Reading Pride for the work she and others including have done behind the scenes on taking these ideas forward

“We in Reading value our diversity. It is therefore important that we value diversity in all its forms and make everyone feel they are welcome in Reading.”

Jamie Wake, local LGBT campaigner and previous Liberal Democrat candidate for Whitley,  said:

“The LGBT community is one that usually feels under-represented and it was a great pleasure to see such a needed project receive full support from all parties on Reading Borough Council.”

Jamie launched the OK 2B GAY campaign at the 2011 Reading Pride Festival in September and received an award from the Reading Pride Charity for the campaigning he does for LGBT Equality.

Jamie added “Whilst this is a step forward for the LGBT Community in Reading, there is a still a lot of work to do to ensure full equality for LGBT people but the cross party support on Reading Borough Council demonstrates how by working together, this can be achieved.”

Liberal Democrats on Reading Borough Council have welcomed the news that poorest children in Reading will benefit from increased school funding from the Coalition Government via the Pupil Premium.

News of the extra cash comes after Ministers recently announced that the total funding available for the Pupil Premium in 2012-13 will rise to £1.25bn, double the amount in 2011-12. It will rise again each year until 2014-15 when it will be worth £2.5bn.

Evidence shows children from low income families generally do not achieve as well as pupils from more advantaged backgrounds. Schools receive this additional funding on top of the existing school budget to support them in reaching their potential and help schools reduce educational inequalities.

Figures published today by the Department for Education have confirmed that Reading schools with pupils from deprived backgrounds in will benefit from additional funding of £1,589,000.
3,527 children in Reading qualify for extra support via the Pupil Premium.

Reading’s most disadvantaged pupils are set to benefit from an extra £58 each after the Department for Education announced this year’s Pupil Premium will increase to £488 per child receiving free school meals.

Schools receive the extra cash for every child eligible for free school meals (FSMs). The money has been released because fewer-than-expected children have registered for FSMs this year.
Announcing the increased funding, Children’s Minister Sarah Teather MP said:

‘The Pupil Premium will benefit poorer pupils, providing extra money directly for those pupils who need it the most.

We know that just 27 per cent of pupils on free school meals get five good GCSE grades compared with 54 per cent of non-free school meal pupils. This extra funding will help tackle this inequality and enable schools to provide the extra support they need to reach their full potential.’

Cllr Rebecca Rye, Lib Dem Education Spokesperson on Reading Borough Council commented:

“This investment will help ensure all children in Reading reach their full potential – regardless of their background or financial circumstances.

“It will help to tackle Labour’s shocking legacy where the richest 16-year olds are three times as likely to get five good GCSEs as the poorest.

Join Reading Liberal Club as they host a fund raising skittles evening at Woodford Park Pavilion on Sat. Oct. 22nd starting at 7.30pm.

There is a bar on the premises, and excellent parking on site, which is off Haddon Drive in Woodley.

The cost is only £10 per head, including food.

For tickets contact Coling Lawley on 9618536 or by e-mail to Coling.lawley@ntlworld.com

Commenting on the news that new extra care housing has been opened by the Council on the site of former Avenue School site, Cllr Daisy Benson said:

“Reading has a growing frail elderly population and these new homes will help meet this need.”

“Rob Wilson MP and I worked hard over the past year to secure the funding required from the Coalition Government to enable this project to go ahead.”

“The striking fact is that in just one year the Coalition Government and the previous administration of this Council has delivered more new Council housing than Labour managed in 20 years.”