Liberal Democrats launch High Street plan

Liberal Democrats in Aylesbury have this week set out plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets, protect the future of the Post Office, and help small businesses establish and grow in a fairer marketplace.

The announcement comes as research shows one in eight shops is now empty after the recession. The report, published by the Local Data Company (LDC), says that vacancies shot up by 24% in the second half of 2009.

Steven Lambert, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aylesbury said “the report shows that in Aylesbury 9.9% of High Street shops are empty, ranking it 8th lowest in the region. The financial crisis has exposed Labour and the Conservatives’ folly of being entirely dependent on the City of London. The Liberal Democrats understand that it will be small businesses that are key to building a healthy and balanced economy.”

Cllr Alan Sherwell, the Lib Dem leader at Aylesbury Vale District Council said “we need a thriving high street in Aylesbury, one with real character that allows local businesses to survive and grow. For instance this is why the Lib Dems have raised concerns over the Asda super store application at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Even before the credit crunch hit, small independent shops had more or less disappeared from our high street, the Government’s skewed planning system has seen supermarket giants squeeze the life out of towns like ours and now almost every high street in Britain is an identical collection of chain stores and coffee shops.

Commenting at the national launch, the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, said thriving high streets are at the heart of local communities. But it has been our high streets that have borne the brunt of this recession, with boarded up shops scarring towns and villages across Britain. I believe that people value the wide range of goods and services available locally and want to see their high streets thrive and prosper.”

Background information

1. The document includes proposals to

• Encourage the development of a PostBank and free the Post Office from the Royal Mail to enable it to develop new business
• Introduce a local competition test for all planning applications for new retail developments to establish a fairer balance between local independent stores and large supermarkets
• Establish a system of Local Enterprise Funds and regional stock exchanges to ensure small businesses get access to cost effective equity that meets their needs

2. A copy of Vibrant Local High Streets is attached.

3. A copy of the LDC report into high street vacancies is attached.

Vibrant_Local_High_Streets

LDC-End-Year-Report-2009-FINAL

Over 1800 Aylesbury pensioners are set to miss out Cold Weather Payments from the Government which was triggered by the recent cold weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats.

Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Steven Lambert said “it is a scandal that over 1800 Aylesbury pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £450,000. But this is the tip of the iceberg as nationally there are over 1.7m pensioners who will miss out on £42.5m of payments.”

Steven added “with Fuel prices at an all time high, Cold Weather Payments become essential to people already struggling on a poverty pension. Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need. The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash.”

Nearly 25,000 people, including nearly 6,000 children under 10, have required hospital treatment after a dog attack in the last eight years, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. Figures show for Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust that 503 cases were reported making Bucks the 9th highest in the whole country. Of these 152 dog attacks were on children under 18 years of age and more worryingly, 88 were on children under the age of 10.

The figures, released in a Parliamentary answer, show:

• 24,992 people in England required hospital treatment after being bitten by a dog between 2000 and 2008. Of these 9,323 were children aged under 18 and 5,954 were under 10
• There was a 43.3% rise in people requiring treatment in the period, from 2,678 in 2000/01 to 3,837 in 2007/08
• This includes a 65.6% rise in adults requiring treatment and an 11.6% rise in children requiring treatment

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aylesbury, Steven Lambert, said “It is astonishing that thousands of people are undergoing hospital treatment every year after violent dog attacks. The Dangerous Dogs Act is one of most ineffective pieces of legislation of recent years – costing millions and being completely unworkable.

The huge rise in attacks is undoubtedly due to the worrying trend of dangerous dogs being used as fashion accessories or, worse, as weapons. Irresponsible owners are more likely to make a dog ‘dangerous’ than it being born a particular breed. Police need to be able to get tough with reckless owners of out-of-control dogs, regardless of the breed.”

To remember and not act is unforgivable.

After attending the reception for returning armed forces personnel at Judges Lodgings in Aylesbury last Monday, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Aylesbury, Steven Lambert, has signed up to the Royal British Legion’s manifesto for the next election. Steven also laid a wreath at the ceremony on Remembrance Sunday in Aylesbury’s Market Square alongside South East MEP Sharon Bowles.

Steven said “It’s crucial that we honour the commitment and sacrifice of our armed forces. Too often they have been let down by our government. Labour has sent our brave young men and women into battle without adequate kit with which to do their jobs. The average wage for a private in the army is below that of other public service workers. And, of course, sending our troops into Iraq was a massive blunder that cost so many lives. We must take better care of those who are prepared to put their lives on the line for their country.”

The Liberal Democrats have an ongoing campaign to get the Government to stop short changing our armed forces. Follow this link to find out more. Don’t short change or Armed Forces.