There has been a 26% increase in the number of premises selling alcohol, but only 0.1% of such premises have had their licences taken away, according to Liberal Democrat analysis of new Licensing Statistics released today.

Don Foster went on to say:

The figures also show that there was a 14% increase in the number of premises with 24-hour licences.

This is despite the fact that in 2007/8 there were 947,000 alcohol-related violent incidents and an increase in crime in the early morning.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said:

“Despite ministers’ complete failure to get to grips with binge drinking, the number of licensed premises is soaring.

“The Government’s failure to prosecute those selling alcohol to drunk people and children has made many town centres ‘no go’ areas, causing immense damage.

“We have laws in place to deal with these problems but they simply aren’t being enforced. The message should be simple, those who can’t sell alcohol responsibly won’t be allowed to sell it at all.”

The Liberal Democrats today accused Alistair Darling of a cover-up over the collapse of the Icelandic banks, in which many British individuals and companies risk losing money.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable questioned Alistair Darling in Parliament today about when the Treasury first knew about the Icelandic banks’ problems, and whether he disregarded warnings about their precarious position.

Vince Cable has also written to Alistair Darling on the issue, but is yet to receive a reply.

Commenting, Vince Cable said:

“I am increasingly worried that there is a cover up going on.

“It seems Alistair Darling was well aware of the trouble that the Icelandic banks were getting into months ago, long before the issue was publicly discussed and when British investors, including charities and Local Authorities were putting new money into them.

“Did the Treasury disregard warnings and did they take whatever action was possible to protect British investors’ money before the crisis broke? I rather suspect that ministers did absolutely nothing.

“They were then faced with the disastrous meltdown which has led to billions of taxpayers’ and charities’ money being lost and thousands of people’s life savings disappearing into Kaupthing Isle of Man, because that is where their insurance companies were rooting their funds.

“Alistair Darling must now admit what the Government knew, when it was told and how it reacted.”

Commenting on Government figures showing that criminals being supervised by the probation service have committed more than one murder every week in the past two years, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson, David Howarth said: “The probation service does an excellent and often thankless job in difficult circumstances.”

David Howarth continued, saying:

“However, this Government’s obsession with criminalising people in the name of looking tough has left the service hugely overstretched.

“If its workload increases, funding is cut and morale is shattered by endless Whitehall tinkering, then it is increasingly likely that people will slip through the net.”

Commenting on the Office of Rail Regulation’s (ORR) new five-year plan, which sets out efficiency and service targets for Network Rail, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: “The ORR is right to try to increase efficiency and raise the quality of Network Rail’s service.”

Norman Baker continued, saying:

“But it is essential that these savings come from better management practices and greater efficiency, not by cutting back on schemes that increase railway capacity.

“The ORR’s role should be to ensure that improvements take place efficiently, not to decide whether they take place at all.

“Unless we have a serious programme to reopen closed railway lines, increase capacity and build new stations, travellers will not escape cattle truck Britain.”

Norman Lamb branded the sharp rise in hospital readmissions as a “false economy” in the health service. Figures highlighted by the Liberal Democrats show that emergency readmissions for patients aged 16 and over have risen by almost a fifth since 2003.

Norman Lamb blamed the culture of targets saying: “the Government’s push to achieve its waiting time targets, coupled with overcrowding in hospitals, risks compromising patients’ safety.”

The figures, revealed in answer to a Parliamentary Question, showed that:

One in seven elderly patients (14%) were readmitted as an emergency case within 28 days of discharge from hospital in 2006-07
Since 2003, the proportion of emergency readmissions has risen by almost one fifth (19%) for patients aged 16 and over
The proportion of emergency readmissions for patients under 16 has risen by 10%
You can read the Parliamentary answer here.

Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, went on to say:

“These figures show what can happen when targets get in the way of clinical priorities. Doctors are being put under huge pressure to cut the length of time that people stay in hospital to meet top-down targets.

“It is a false economy and poor practice to send people home too soon, only to have them readmitted days later.”

I have reproduced a recent message from Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, which was published recently in the Yorkshire Post:

Now that the banks have been bailed out with billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, when will families across Yorkshire get their bail out?
News of the looming recession will be deeply worrying to the local communities who were hit hard last time the economy was in such dire straits.

Unemployment is up again, and sadly the job losses we are already seeing may be the tip of the iceberg.

Decades of Conservative and Labour governments have left households saddled with unfair council tax and sky-high bills. Services have been starved of money and stripped of control. Now, here we are again, facing more tough times while hardworking people still struggle to make ends meet.

(more…)

 Companies operating in ports along both banks of the Humber have been hit with business rate demands backdated to April 1, 2005. Collectively, the bills for Hull firms alone run to nearly £20 million.  This situation is threatening to put some of these companies out of business and cause the loss of thousands of jobs in the region. The charges are being implemented nationally, and some estimates put potential job losses around the UK as high as 150,000. 

Gordon Brown met with regional MPs at Westminster today (Wednesday), to discuss how the issue surrounding the fees could be resolved.
Port operators have traditionally paid a rent to landlord Associated British Ports (ABP), which then paid a sum to the Treasury to cover business rates, but in 2003, the Government decided to change to a direct levy on firms, based on the size of their premises.The Valuation Office Agency has taken so long to evaluate ABP land, companies on the docks have been hit by demands for business rates backdated to 2005.On Monday next week the lib dem leader of NELC, Cllr Andrew De Freitas will be travelling to London as a part of a regional delegation to meet John Healey, the Minister of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government to discuss the issue.

School pupils should be kept in school grounds during lunch breaks to stop them eating unhealthy take-away food, the Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said.

Mr Balls says that there is little point in banning junk food inside school, if pupils then eat it outside school.

This will not be a compulsory requirement, but Mr Balls says he will back heads trying to impose a policy of not allowing pupils out during the day.

He also wants councils to limit the number of take-aways near schools.

Mr Balls is set to address the Healthy Eating in Schools Conference in London – where he will claim that “the corner has been turned” on improving the quality of school meals.

MPs have claimed that road safety is the “major public health problem of our age”.

A report published by the Commons transport committee today, expresses “deep concern” about the link between poverty and road deaths as well as the high number of accidents involving male drivers, young drivers and on rural roads.

MPs have called for a much bolder strategy to address the problem and recommend that local authorities should be given more power to introduce 20mph speed limits, increased enforcement to tackle drink-driving and the creation of a road safety commission.

The committee heard evidence that child pedestrians from the lowest socio-economic groups are 21 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than those from the top socio-economic groups. Poorer car users are also at greater risk of death than the more affluent.

Chair of the committee Louise Ellman said: “The number of deaths and injuries on our roads far outweighs the deaths and injuries in other transport modes or in other work-related accidents.

“We need to start seeing this not only as a collection of individual tragedies but also as the major public health problem of our age. The deaths of three thousand people and injuries to a quarter of a million are a staggering annual toll to pay for mobility.”

The MP’s claimed that “Little progress has been made in reducing deaths among car users and there has been a significant rise in motorcyclist deaths, which rose by 26 per cent between 1994 – 1998 and 2007,”.

Government statistics claim that serious injuries are falling much more rapidly than deaths, but the committee questioned the accuracy of the injury data and whether the government “is really going to meet its road safety targets”.

David Sinclair, head of policy for Help the Aged, said: “Safety on our roads is of paramount importance – around 40 per cent of pedestrian fatalities are older people and older people are far more likely to be severely injured or killed in accidents.

“Improving public transport and creating safer roads and pavements will help to improve communities for people of all ages.”

Mike Newall also gave his first local appearance as he answered questions about his new job as the manager of Grimsby Town Football Club.

 This was followed by an auction of various footbal items which included England shirts signed by Nobby Stiles and Gordon Banks, a shirt signed by the Manchester United football team, a limited edition print signed by the 1977  European Cup winning Liverpool football team, and books of the Liverpool 1977 season signed and donated by Joey Jones

The evening  was organised by the landlord of the Market Hotel, Ken Thompson and ex Grimsby Town player Dave Boylen to raise funds for the family of Aaron Wakefield, who is currently in hospital in London with numerous serious heart problems.  The money raised will help with the family expenses travelling to London and staying there while Aaron receives treatment. 

The generous customers raised over £1000 on the night to help Aaron and his family.