The Government has levied a two pence rise in fuel duty which will come into effect from midnight tonight, making this the third increase in fuel duty in nine months.

The government says the extra duty is needed to help fund public investment.

RAC motoring strategist Adrian Tink said:

“This third fuel-duty hike is unacceptable.

“Since the start of 2009, Britain’s motorists have seen a 23 per cent rise in pump prices, meaning an extra £11 per tank for the average car.

“The Chancellor seems to regard Britain’s 30million motorists as a soft target for tax and with this latest rise he risks alienating them even further.

“‘The Government needs to appreciate the impact such taxes have on cash-strapped families and, at the very least, provide people with some clarity over where this money is being spent.”

Mr Tink also pointed to another punishing rise in fuel duty next April.

“With VAT also returning to 17.5 per cent it could be a very long winter for motorists”

Mr King said members of the AA are already having cut down on their car journeys due to the high price of fuel, and that this latest rise will only make matters worse.  This means that the government’s revenues will not actually increase.

The Petrol Retailers Association pointed out that the price of fuel will increase once again at the end of the year when the rate of VAT increases from 15% to 17.5%.

Jo Tanner, director of communications at the Freight Transport Association, said existing high fuel prices were already having a “huge effect” on its members.

She said the freight transport sector has already seen its fuel bills rise by £800m since last December, and insolvencies have also increased by 50%.

Richard George, a road and climate campaigner at the Campaign for Better Transport, said the government should be spending the duty increase on public transport, and not just putting it into the government’s general budget.

Mr George said:

“If the money was going into public transport, drivers would be better off as there would be less cars on the road and less congestion for them,”

Supermarket group Morrisons said it will not increase the cost of fuel at its forecourts until 6 September.

 This is a picture sent to me by my Liberal Democrat colleague, Steve Beasant of a sign at the entrance to a local car park.

As Robin Hood took from the rich and paid the poor does this mean that they pay you to park here?

At long last there is a starting date for the youth clubs, which will be held every Monday evening from 6.30 – 8.30 at the Yarborough Community Centre, and Thursdays from 6.30 – 8.30, with the first night at the Yarborough Centre being 7th September, and 10th will be the first night at Littlecoates.  Admission is 50 pence per session

The youth clubs will originally run for a six month trial period, and if there is enough response from young people in the area they will become permanent.

This means you must use them or lose them!

For more information click on >>>>>>>>>youth-club-flyer-both.pdf

Scientiists from Bournemouth University examined the quality of food offered to prisoners and NHS patients, and discovered that people in hospital are losing out on nutrition because they are receiving enough help with eating, and they are not having their diet checked.

In spite of years of Government promises to improve nutrition in hospitals , food still often arrives cold, and patients often miss out on their meals because meal times clash with tests and operations, but nurses say they are too busy to help every elderly patient with their meals.

Professor John Edwards said about 40% of patients entering hospital were already malnourished, and this did not tend to improve during their stay.

“Hospital patients don’t consume enough. If you are using food as a means of treatment then it’s not working.

“From the work we’ve done we know that people who sit round a table eat a lot more, but this doesn’t happen in hospitals.”

Prisoners are able to enjoy food that is rich in carbohydrate and low in fat, which is often better than they would have  eaten outside prison.

According to the Daily Mail, many old people are not fed properly while they are in hospital, and their meals are often taken away untouched because they are are placed out of patients’ reach, or because they arenot sufficiently  appetising.

Latest figures show that 242 patients died of malnutrition in NHS hospitals in 2007, which is the highest figure in the last ten years.  More than 8,000 patients left hospital under-nourished, which is twice the total when Labour came to power.

Figures show that the NHS wastes a total of 11million meals every year, and many nurses say they do not have the time to help patients to eat.

 Earlier this year the Mail revealed that some hospitals spend less on meals than the average prison.

Ten hospitals spent less on breakfast, lunch and an evening meal than the £2.12 a day allocated for food by the prison service. One spent just £1.

Although most hospitals do spend more than £2.12, prisoners end up better nourished than patients, say experts from Bournemouth University.  After studying the food offered to inmates and across the NHS, they found patients face more barriers in getting good nutrition.

Professor John Edwards said around 40% of patients were already malnourished when they were admitted to hospital, but their condition did not tend to improve while they were there.

Mr Edwards said:

“If you are in prison then the diet you get is extremely good in terms of nutritional content, 

“The food that is provided is actually better than most civilians have.

“There’s a focus on carbohydrates, then there’s the way they prepare the food, it’s very healthy. They don’t add salt and there’s relatively little frying of food  -  if you have a burger then it goes in the oven. Hospital patients don’t consume enough.

“And from the work we’ve done we know that people who sit round a table eat a lot more, but this doesn’t happen in hospitals.”

Mr Edwards colleague, Dr Heather Hartwell, said fruit and vegetables were given out in hospitals “but this doesn’t mean it’s eaten”.

While patients often suffer a loss of appetite as a result of their illness, they often go hungry because there is no one available to help them eat.  

Dr Hartwell said once food was prepared, it is usually left waiting for porters to deliver to patients, and then it is often left on wards until it goes cold.

“Ward staff don’t actually know how much patients has eaten because it is domestics who takethe trays away,” she said.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said:

“This study highlights the experience of too many patients in NHS hospitals.

“While there is excellent care in many places, there are a lot of examples of what is in effect neglect of vulnerable people.

“It’s incredible that so many hospitals are failing to serve healthy meals.  If prisons can serve good food then so can hospitals.”

The Department of Health said:

“The majority of patients are satisfied with the food they receive in hospitals, and we are working to improve services further.

“The Nutrition Action Plan, Improving Nutritional Care, outlines how nutritional care and hydration can be improved and highlights five key priority areas for NHS and social care staff to work with.

“‘We have also introduced the concept of “protected mealtimes” where all non-urgent activity on the ward stops, so that patients can enjoy their meals.”

Results from a recently released survey from the School Food Trust shows that one in five families is missing out on up to £700 a year by failing to claim free school meals.

A poll of more than 500 low income parents found that 22% did not know whether their child was entitled to free dinners.

With an average price for school meals of £1.85 in secondary schools, a family with two children could save £703 a year by claiming. 

The survey found that 39% of parents with an income lower than £16,000 a year said they would the money to pay urgent bills, and another 29% said they would use the cash to buy clothes or toys for their youngsters.

Free School Meals are used as a measure of poverty, and children usually qualify if their household income is less than £16,040 as long as their parents do not receive working families tax credit.

The survey suggests that if qualifying families gave their children £3.00 lunch money every day it would be would cost an unnecessary  £1,140 a year.

Trust chief executive Judy Hargadon said:

“The recent school census showed that the number of children registered for free school meals rose by 21,410 this year – the first annual increase in three years.

“We want to reach the parents of children who are entitled to receive a free meal, but aren’t claiming it.”

“As the recession bites and unemployment rises, cash strapped families need to be making all the savings they can; we would urge any parent to check with their school or local council and start claiming what’s theirs.”

Pregnant women in North East Lincolnshire are to be offered earlier and more accurate screening for Down’s syndrome with the implementation of a new screening test.  From September 1, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust will be offering the new combined test at the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital.   

The test combines the result of the nuchal translucency measurement (the amount of fluid lying under the skin at the back of the baby’s neck which, if women agree to screening, is taken at the time of the pregnancy dating scan) and the result of a blood test taken from the mother to work out an individual risk figure.  

Phyllis Cole, antenatal/newborn screening co-ordinator at North East Lincolnshire CTP, said:

“All women are offered screening for Down’s syndrome in pregnancy regardless of their age.  Screening tests are optional and both the women and their partners are supported and given information to help them make decisions regarding the test.  Women are also provided with the nationally produced ‘Screening Tests for You & Your Baby’ leaflet to promote informed decision making around all screening options during their pregnancy and for their newborn baby. 

“The introduction of the combined test for all pregnant women in North East Lincolnshire means they are now offered an earlier and more accurate screening test in line with the Department of Health recommendations.  It is performed between 11 and 14 weeks gestation and women are advised to make contact with the midwife or their GP surgery as soon as their pregnancy is confirmed to ensure they can access this earlier screening test.”

The current screening test for Down’s syndrome, which is offered at a later stage in pregnancy, will continue to be available for women who do not meet the criteria for the earlier test. Plans are in progress to offer the early pregnancy combined screening test to women at Scunthorpe General Hospital later in the year.

The average British commuter spends almost the same amount of time travelling to work as they receive in holidays, according to research carried out by the Liberal Democrats.

• The country’s 25 million commuters, spend the equivalent of 169.3 hours a year, or just under 23 working days, travelling to and from work.  Most employees are entitled to around 26 days annual holiday, although research shows that most do not take at least two of them.
• A recent survey commissioned by the Government found that most commuters would be prepared to pay more than £5 extra a day if it could save them an hour’s commute.
• People working in London travel the furthest to get to work, commuting an average of 1,370 miles a year.

The figures were revealed by Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics, who has called for more investment to be made in public transport.

Jo Swinson said:

“Commuting is often an incredibly frustrating experience, whether you are on a crowded train platform staring at your watch, crammed on to a bus or tube train or stuck in a traffic jam.

“Even moderate commutes make people less happy – something the Government’s own research shows.

“It is incredible to think we spend as much time going to and from work as we do going on holiday.

“The Government should concentrate on easing the plight of commuters by investing in faster trains, fewer crowded carriages and more bus schemes.”

The Sunday Express has launched a campaign to Clamp Down Crusade against the rogue Cowboy Clampers.

The Express is supporting councils across Britain to battle with “modern-day Dick Turpins” who are legally extorting millions of pounds from motorists.

The Government has so far refused to outlaw wheel-clamping on private land, and now local authorities have decided to take matters into their own hands.

Drivers can routinely pay in more than £500 to recover their clamped or towed away cars, and they have no way of challenging the charges imposed by clamping companies other than making a challenge through the county court.

In Windsor, town hall officials are considering imposing antisocial behaviour orders on operators they accuse of “highway robbery”.

Councillor Colin Rayner said:

“These clamping firms are operating a legalised extortion racket.  Their staff aggressively demand hundreds of pounds from unsuspecting tourists.

“Clamping in private car parks is a plague in Windsor and it’s all very damaging to our reputation.  The Government must act now so that we can rid our streets of these people.”

Other councils including Hull, Scarborough, and others are supporting moves for a ban.

Trading Standards boss from Windsor said:

“We’ve had to take matters into our own hands because the Government isn’t doing anything. The Home Office set up a select committee on clamping last year but it hasn’t met since. The Security Industry Authority, which licences private clampers, is completely toothless. There are no sanctions, there isn’t even a maximum amount firms can charge. It’s a licence to print money. These people use entrapment by leaving their own cars on private land to lure people to park there only to clamp them and tow the cars away. We’ve had mothers being stranded with their children and single women returning to their cars late at night to find they have disappeared.”

The AA said last week that clamping has reached epidemic levels with nearly £1billion a year being taken from motorists. The AA report accuses clampers of using “bad and immoral” practices that are “frightening and often bordering on criminality” with women motorists in particular feeling menaced and intimidated. The AA’s public affairs head Paul Watters said:

“This is legalised mugging and totally immoral. Self-regulation is not working as there are too many firms and individuals operating in this often shady area.

“The public have absolutely no protection if a private parking firm acts unfairly; it is a civil matter and no one is interested in helping.”

MPs have been calling on the Government to follow Scotland’s lead in banning clamping on private land. It has been considered “extortion and theft” there since a 1992 court ruling.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Bakersaid: “Clamping is legalised extortion and needs to be stopped. It’s time private clampers were run out of town.”

Norman Baker also said, recently: “It is absolutely wrong that there should be a financial incentive for private companies to clamp vehicles.  Clamping must be properly regulated and should be carried out by publicly accountable bodies such as the police or local authorities.

“I is simply not right that a private company, who may have an incentive to place more clamps in order to make more money, should be able to demand large sums from motoris who are entirely innocent and who have no right of independent appeal.  Many constituents, as well as others around the country, have been victims of these unfair practices for far too long.

“It is hugely disappointing that government has failed to act on this outrageous practice.”

The latest figures for obesity uncovered by the Liberal Democrats show that 100 people are admitted to hospital every day in the UK because of their weight.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman MP Norman Lamb said:

“The failure to tackle the shocking levels of adult and childhood obesity is deeply depressing.

“The fact that the number of people admitted to hospital because of obesity has nearly tripled makes it clear that initiatives are just not working.

“These figures are staggering and it is really worrying that we are not managing to tackle obesity related problems.”

The statistics confirm earlier studies which appear to indicate that anti-obesity initiatives are not working.  Last month a report by NHS Norfolk showed that 18.3% of 10 and 11 year olds (year 6) are classed as obese, which is an increase from 16.2% last year.

The problem is affecting younger children, with nearly one in 10 four to five year olds also suffering from obesity, which is a rise from 8.2%c last year to 9.4% this year.

Obesity is determined by the Body Mass Index (BMI) which is based on a person’s height and weight.  If the ndex is higher than 25 someone is considered overweight and above 30 is considered obese.

Experts now believe that obesity is the cause of more ill health than smoking and can lead to a range of problems including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes as well as some forms of cancer.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is having to deal with an increasing number of large patients in recent years and buy and lease more equipment such as beds, hoists, commodes, chairs, through to larger fridges in the mortuary to  enable them to cope with patients with a weight of up to 40 stones, .

A spokesman said:

“On average we will have one or perhaps two in-patients at any one time who are classed as bariatric (obese). “Some 10 years ago it would have been relatively unusual to have a bariatric patient but now it is part of our everyday work, albeit in relatively small numbers.”

Since 2005 government MEND (Mind Exercise Nutrition Do it!) programmes have been introduced to reduce family obesity and earlier this year a Change4Life project was started by the Department of Health to encourage children to be more active and eat healthily to help them live longer.

According to the Times, Gordon Brown is facing a rebellion from his party over proposals to cut the benefits of some of the country’s poorest families.

Treasury plans to cut housing allowance by up to £15 a week will mean some claimants could lose a fifth of their income.

At the moment, half of those receiving the housing allowance (around 300,000 people), are helped by a policy that means that they can keep up to £780 a year if they find accommodation that costs less than the maximum benefit.

From April 1st they will not be able to pocket the leftover cash in a move that should save an estimated £160 million.

The plan has angered Labour backbenchers, including Frank Field, the MP who led the opposition to the 10p income tax rate.

MPs are concerned that changing the policy would remove competition between landlords, which would let them raise rents to the maximum allowance.

Mr Field is tabling an amendment opposing the change, told The Times:

“At one stroke, they get rid of a reform aimed at getting flexibility into a fairly inflexible market by giving people incentives to shop around.

“The timing for this could have been decided in Conservative headquarters.”

Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat housing spokeswoman who discovered the change contained in the Budget, said: “£15 a week may be small change to ministers, but for families struggling to make ends meet it is incredibly important.

“Gordon Brown has once again abandoned the people who need the most help.”

Lizzie Iron, head of welfare policy at Citizens Advice, said the current system encouragesd fairer rents and rewards careful spending.

She said:
“Plans to remove this excess are ill thought-out, and risk having a considerable impact on levels of poverty without delivering any real savings to the DWP budget.

“Removing the £15 excess provision removes any incentive for tenants to shop around and encourages landlords to charge up to the maximum allowance.

“We very much hope that DWP withdraws this proposal, or at the very least postpones it until sufficient data is available to make a full impact assessment, and the consequent impact on landlord and tenant behaviour has been fully explored.”