27 January 2010

SKATE PARK DESIGN MUST INVOLVE USERS

"Skateboarders, BMX and scooter riders must be fully involved in the design of a skate park in the Valley Gardens" says Lib Dem PPC for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Claire Kelley.

Next week Harrogate Borough Council's Cabinet will decide whether to proceed with a park, but the report to the Cabinet proposes that only a small group of users will be involved in the design.

Up to 1.7m pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent 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, Phil Willis MP (LibDem, Harrogate & Knaresborough) said,

“There could be as many as 1,760 pensioners in my constituency who are missing out on these payments. This is scandalous.

In response to my recent poll, 76% of you voted against students having to pay tuition fees. This result comes as universities come to terms with a £900 million funding gap over the next three years. Students in England already have to pay £3,225 per annum to fund their courses.

Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Phil Willis has hit out at local councils over their failure to grit pavements and roads outside Harrogate’s town centre.

“It is outrageous that many of my constituents, particularly elderly people, have felt trapped in their own homes over the Christmas and New Year period.

“There is little point in having clear paths in the town centre if you cannot get out of your own house.

Phil Willis MP today welcomed the written ministerial statement from David Lammy MP and Hopkins Report promising structural reorganisation of the Student Loans Company.

He commented: “I certainly welcome the frankness of this statement, and the Hopkins report.”

“The fact that, when most students had commenced their courses on 4 October 2009, 175,000 were still waiting for their loans just highlights what an absolute shambles this has been.”

“This is great news for the region” was the reaction of Phil Willis MP (LibDem, Harrogate & Knaresborough) to today’s announcement by ITV Studios’ of a major £5 million investment in the Kirkstall Road studios in Leeds.

The investment will be made in upgrading and refurbishing the original main building so it can accommodate the Emmerdale production centre which is currently situated on Burley Road.

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer is preparing his Pre-Budget Statement Phil Willis MP (LibDem, Harrogate & Knaresborough) is urging him to reverse the eight per cent beer duty increase when value added tax (VAT) returns to its full rate on 1 January 2010.

"It was unfair and unjustifiable to deny the British beer and pub industry the benefits of the VAT cut when it was introduced last year" said Phil Willis, "and with pub closures running at a record high of 50 a week I do not believe that the industry can cope with the planned VAT increase in January."