You could come and meet one of your Ward Councillors and improve your health at the samer time!

Every Tuesday at 10.00am at St. Michael’s Church, in Great Coates Road there is one of the popular Walkwell Walks. 

The walk is supervised by qualified walk leaders who lead the group in a brisk walk in the surrounding countryside for around an hour followed by an optional social gathering where free refreshments are served. 

 This walk has proved to be very popular, and is regularly attended by about 40 walkers, including myself.  

You can take a walk in the countryside in friendly company, followed by a drink and a chat.  Most weeks you can also talk to your Ward Councillor about any subject (or not if that suits you better!) 

I look forward to meeting some of you one of these weeks!

The next meeting of Yarborough Forward, which is open to any resident of the Yarborough Ward, will take place at the Yarrow Road Community Centre on Thursday 28th August at 6.00pm. 

This is an opportunity for local residentsto tell some of the people who can make a difference to the area that you live in what YOU want to see done to improve your neighbourhood. 

Regular visitors at Yarborough Forward meetings include Ward Councillors, Police, Neighbourhood Wardens, PCSO’s, e - Factor, Shoreline HP, Health Trainers and Neighbourhood Managers.

If you live in the Yarborough Ward why not come to the meeting, or if you are unable to attend, but would still like to share your opinions, then ring the secretary on 310855

Commenting on today’s Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announcement that mortgage lending in July 2008 was nearly a third lower than at the same time last year, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said:

“This is more evidence off a housing market in freefall.

“As thousands of pounds are wiped off the value of homes each month, the only people selling are those who have no alternative.

“Although painful, house prices must be allowed to return to more affordable levels following years of huge price rises on the back of unsustainable levels of personal debt.

“The Government must act to ensure that we have no repeat of the Tory recession of the 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of families unable to pay their mortgages were thrown out of their houses.”

Commenting on reports that thousands of pensioners could miss out on hundreds of pounds worth of backdated benefits as a result of changes to the pension credit, council tax benefit and housing benefit systems, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesperson, John Barrett said:

“With these changes, the Government is giving with one hand and taking away with the other.

“I cannot see any justification for the change in the backdating rules other than to save money for the Exchequer. The simple reality is that some of the most vulnerable pensioners will be missing out on hundreds, perhaps thousands of pounds as a result.

“The Government should be focusing on increasing the benefits take-up rate rather than penalising pensioners who were either unaware of the help that is available, or unsure of how to apply.”

The Liberal Democrats today condemned David Cameron’s failure to probe the Watford Conservative Party following the local parliamentary candidate’s sustained campaign of harassment and criminal damage against his Liberal Democrat rivals.

Liberal Democrat Chair of Campaigns and Communications, Edward Davey wrote to Mr Cameron to demand action following Ian Oakley’s guilty pleas on August 5, but the Tory leader has done nothing.

In a second letter to Mr Cameron today, Edward Davey said:

“I deeply regret that a fortnight later you have failed to act in this matter or to apologise for the severe distress that this disgraceful campaign has caused.

“It is simply unacceptable for the Conservative Party to fail to address the very serious matters that have been raised as a result of this case.

 “I trust that you will now act to rectify this shameful situation with a due sense of urgency.”

  The average price of homes sold at auction has fallen by almost one fifth since 2007, the Liberal Democrats warned recently.

Calculations by Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Lord (Matthew) Oakeshott found that the average price of residential properties sold at auction in the second quarter of 2008 was down 18.7% from the same quarter of 2007. This is an average fall of £32,000 (from £170,757 to £138,857).Commenting, Lord Oakeshott said:“Auctions are the real deal with real buyers who have to exchange contracts and pay their deposit when the hammer falls. The published house price indices are well behind the market drop.“Deferring or suspending stamp duty with house prices in free fall would be like throwing a bucket of water at the Great Fire of London and risks sucking vulnerable first time buyers into negative equity.“Stamp duty needs serious long-term reform, not a quick fix to save Gordon Brown’s skin.”

Commenting on figures released recently by the Office of Rail Regulation, which show that rail fares have rocketed in price since the mid-1990s, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said:“It is absurd that rail fares continue to rise well above inflation.“Rail is the greenest form of mass transportation and the Government should be taking steps to make it more attractive.“At the moment it seems that the more carbon you emit, the cheaper it is to travel.”

Commenting on a recent Business and Enterprise Committee report, which warns that energy prices will rise significantly in the near future, with ‘serious consequences for millions of households, and especially the fuel-poor’,  Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said:“The Government’s response to soaring energy prices has been woefully complacent. “The planned rise in the Winter Fuel Payment is dwarfed by the rise that households are likely to see in their bills. These increases hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest, while energy companies receive a £9bn windfall.

“Immediate action is needed so that vulnerable customers are guaranteed the best price that their supplier offers. Cuts in the warm front insulation programme must be reversed and the energy companies must be forced to drive up standards of home energy efficiency.

“For businesses, soaring fuel prices could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We need a competitive energy market so that businesses can shop around and get the best price.”

All children should be removed from the National DNA Database immediately unless they have committed a serious sexual or violent crime, according to new Liberal Democrat plans published today.

The proposals would dramatically increase safeguards for all personal data in the wake of numerous Government and private sector data protection failures.

The Liberal Democrats’ plans include:

Strengthening the role of the Information Commissioner and doubling his budget
Removing under 16s from the DNA database, except those convicted of a violent or sexual offence
Properly informing citizens of opt-outs from government databases
Introducing extensive civil penalties for serious breaches of data security
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Baroness (Sue) Miller said:

“We’ve seen no end to this Government’s shambolic approach to data security. Discs lost in the post. Laptops lost on trains. Files left lying around.

“The Government is collecting more and more information about us, but seems utterly incapable of keeping it safe.

“Only the Liberal Democrats have comprehensive proposals to keep private information safe. We will ensure only essential data is stored and that proper systems are in place to prevent its loss or misuse.”

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To read the full document http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/Protecting%20Our%20Privacy.pdf