Danny Alexander has called for cuts to be made to Bus fares following the news of falling gas prices. The Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury has also called on coach and package holiday operators to reduce their prices and reflect the recent drop in the cost of fuel.

In a series of interventions Danny has:

• Written to five major bus operators calling on them to pass on the dramatic falls in the diesel price to customers through lower fares. In his letter he points out that bus operators receive taxpayer support via a fuel subsidy and that fare paying passengers and tax payers will want reassurance that falls in diesel costs are being passed on.

• Written to London Mayor Boris Johnson urging him to ensure savings are passed on to bus users in London as swiftly as possible.

• Written to coach companies seeking re-assurance that long distance and commuting coach fares are reflecting the falling oil price fall as swiftly as possible.

• Written to package holiday firms pressing them to pass on savings accrued through lower air, coach and other holiday costs.

When commenting on his call for bus fare cuts, Danny said:

“With fuel prices dropping across the country it’s right that the full benefits are passed on.  Falling oil prices are like a giant tax cut to the economy.  But the positive effect will only be felt if the oil price falls are passed on.  While drivers are already seeing the cost of filling up the car come down, the millions of Britons who use the bus are still paying what they did a few months ago.

“On top of that many people will be planning their summer holidays now and looking for an early bargain. I want package tour operators to reflect the lower costs of fuel in their prices now.”

“Consumers have suffered the pain of high oil prices, it’s only right that companies and organisations do all they can to pass on as quickly as possible every last penny of oil price falls.”

“At the same time, these are worrying times for our valued North Sea Oil & Gas sector and they can be assured that I am committed to providing support where possible.”

We are now less than 4 months away from the 2015 General election, as well as an important round of local elections in Bury.

In the General Election we have two great Parliamentary Candidates – Richard Baum in Bury North and Paul Ankers in Bury South (see the full story here).

In the local elections our best chances will be in the Prestwich wards, where we have already selected our candidates. Four years ago (when these seats were last fought) we didn’t win any local council seats, so the only way is up!

The election is going to be tough, and we need your help to make sure Bury has a strong Liberal Democrat voice going forwards. Here is how you can help:

– help spread the message. Let us know if you would like to help out spreading the Lib Dem message in the press and on social media (Facebook/Twitter) etc – these are great ways to reach more people and let them know what we’re up to.

– stand as a local elections candidate. We need to make sure every part of Bury has a Liberal Democrat on every ballot paper. We have already selected our candidates in the Prestwich wards, but if you are willing to put your name forward in one of the other 14 wards in Bury please let us know.

– help on the campaign trail. Campaigning is taking place every week in our target wards in the Prestwich area, but to succeed we need your help. Sessions take place in both the working-week daytime, and at weekend – both talking to voters and leafleting. If you prefer to work in your own time we can give you a regular delivery round.

– help from home. If you would prefer to help from home there are two great ways you can help: We need help with clerical tasks, particularly writing addresses on envelopes which can be done from home; we also need help with phoning potential helpers to ask if they can help. We’re also planning some evening phoning sessions from city centre Manchester – which some people find more fun to work as part of a team.

– recruit a friend. Join the Party – from as little as £12 a year (£6 for young people) – or recruit a friend as a member. The more members we have the money we get from the national Party to use locally. You can sign people up online here.

– donate to local campaign funds. We desperately need money to make sure that every household in Bury hears from the Lib Dems in the election campaign. In the next few weeks we’ll be letting you know how you can help. Every little helps, no matter how small or big.

Any help you could offer us would be greatly appreciated, so don’t hesitate to contact one of the Bury Lib Dem Organisers, Michael Powell (07730 045287) or Ellie Hudspith (07758 215187), or alternatively send us an email to the following addresses:

michael.powell@aldc.org

ellie.hudspith@aldc.org

Yesterday the Liberal Democrats outlined plans to safeguard the future of the NHS. The plans increase a proposal to increase NHS funding by at least £8 billion per year in real terms by 2020.

The Liberal Democrats are the first party to present a plan which addresses the financial needs of the NHS as set out by Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England in his Five Year Forward View.

To achieve this boost in funding by 2020/21, Liberal Democrats will do three things:

1) We will baseline into the budget of the NHS, the additional £2bn that Liberal Democrats secured in the Autumn Statement for 2015/16.

2) In addition to this funding we will invest a further £1bn in real terms in 2016/17, as we set out at our Autumn Conference. This will be paid for by capping pensions tax relief for the richest pensioners (saving 500m), aligning divend tax with income tax for those earning more than £150,000 (saving £400m) and scrapping the Conservative shares for rights scheme (saving £100m).

3) Once we have finished the job of tackling the deficit in 2017/18, we will increase health spending in line with growth in the economy.

As well as increasing NHS funding, the Liberal Democrats will also commission a non-partisan fundamental review of NHS and social care finances in 2015 before the next spending review, in order to assess the pressures that are currently being placed on NHS budgets.

We will focus extra funding on two key priorities that will help reduce cost pressures in other areas to help NHS funding remain sustainable. These priorities are:

1) Mental health. We want to end the discrimination against mental health and have pledged £500m extra a year to support this from 2015/16 onwards.

2) Prevention. Keeping people healthier for longer and supporting people to stay as healthy as possible and to receive care closer to home.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to set out a credible road map for how we will safeguard the NHS over the next parliament.

Neither Labour or the Tories have a credible response to the funding challenges that the NHS faces. Labour have pledged £2.5bn only to be fully introduced by the third year of the next parliament and have not committed to any additional real term increases beyond that, while the Conservatives have made no specific real terms funding commitments.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party committed to increasing NHS funding by £8bn in real terms by 2020.

Norman Lamb has begun a campaign to get a fair deal for mental health services in the NHS.

The Liberal Democrat health minister said:

“People suffering from mental ill health have been let down by the NHS for decades. One in four of us who suffer from a mental illness in our lifetime, but there is an institutional bias against mental health, and it always been that way. Just £1 out of every £9 is spent on treating mental illnesses.

Liberal Democrats are changing that. We’re introducing waiting standards so that patients will have a right to treatment within a defined period of time. People with mental health conditions should have the same rights as someone waiting for an operation.

Next year we start with the first ever waiting standards for psychological therapies for people with conditions such as anxiety and depression and for ‘early intervention in psychosis’.

We just announced £150 million over 5 years for treating young people who suffer from eating disorders – with the aim of introducing a waiting time standard in 2016. It will mean fewer young people end up in hospital because of a failure to get help early enough.”

If you would like to show your support for Norman’s campaign to end the stigma which exists around mental health, then please click here.

Figures published last week by the Department for Education have revealed that attainment levels for primary schools are rising in every subject. In addition, the figures show that disadvantaged pupils are continuing to close the gap on their classmates.

Results taken from more than half a million 11 year olds (at Key Stage 2) show that the percentage of pupils achieving the expected level (level 4) in reading, writing and maths has risen by 3 percentage points to 79% while the proportion achieving the more challenging level 4b is also up – from 63% to 67%. The findings also show that since 2013, 22,000 pupils have improved their reading, writing and maths attainment levels.

Also despite a tougher new threshold, the figure’s show that the number of primaries judged to be below standard has remained stable.

Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat schools minister David Laws stated:

“I am pleased to see that primaries have responded to the challenge of a higher floor standard – we have raised the bar and schools have raised their game.

“It is also encouraging to see the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers continue to narrow and parents, teachers and pupils deserve to be congratulated for their efforts.

“But we know there is more to do and there are still too many areas with simply unacceptable levels of attainment for disadvantaged pupils.

“We are committed to helping schools do more and have increased the pupil premium they receive per pupil to £1,300 so they have the resources they need.”

Merry Christmas to everyone who helps, supports and is a member of the Lib Dem team here in Bury. We hope you have a very Happy Christmas and the very best for 2015. We’re taking a break from emails and texts for a couple of weeks, and we’re back in the office on 5 January 2015.

Michael Powell and Ellie Hudspith Bury Campaign Organisers

The local Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for more defibrillators to be made accessible to the public. This is because statistics show that your chances of surviving many types of heart attack increase from 0% to 40% with early CPR and early defibrillation.

In a formal question to Bury Council, Holyrood councilor Tim Pickstone discorvered that the council did not keep records of publicly accessible defibrillators in Bury.

There are no publicly accessible defibrillators registered with the ambulance service in the Prestwich area, where Tim is a councilor. Until this year Bury Council was the only council in Great Manchester which did not have defibrillators in its sport centres.

Councilor Pickstone has written to the council asking them to include the longfield in a scheme and has also written to Prestwich Tesco and Bowker Vale Sainsburys.

If you are involved in a community organisation or sports group in Prestwich that would be interested in working with use to raise money or grants for a defibrillator please get in touch.

It was announced yesterday by Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable that the Liberal Democrats have delivered on their promise to start up two million apprenticeships during this Parliament. This good news has also been echoed locally, with 6,490 apprentices being created in Bury.

To mark the occasion, Vince met Paige McConville from Oxford, who had become the two millionth apprentice. Paige who is 16 started her Advanced Apprenticeship in Engineering Manufacture with high-tech engineering firm FMB Oxford in August.

Paige took Vince on a tour around FMB Oxford, explaining how she was gaining key skills during her apprenticeship which will allow her to pursue a career as an engineer.

The Liberal Democrats have prioritised the creation of jobs and apprenticeships in this Government as part of the belief that all young people should be able to get on in life and apprenticeships are one way of helping to achieve that.

Commenting on the good news, Vince Cable said:

“Reaching the 2 millionth apprenticeship is testament to this Government’s commitment to apprenticeships. Paige and her employer are a shining example of how apprenticeships give young people the chance to start a career and give businesses the talent to grow.

“This isn’t just about numbers. From space engineering, to TV production, to legal services, apprenticeships are the ticket to a great job and a route employers trust to access the skills they need.”

Nick Clegg has unveiled plans to see abandoned buildings across the North of England brought back to life in a renewed effort to tackle a chronic problem where vast sites have become empty and unused for long periods of time, making areas of several major Northern cities look blighted.

Nick wants to help match-make entrepreneurs and community groups with local authorities and land-owners to find temporary uses for vacant buildings and land which would otherwise simply go to waste.

The North has nearly twice as many hectares of previously developed vacant land and buildings than the South, leading to calls from the Liberal Democrats for major renovation projects to take place in some Northern cities.

The vacant buildings could provide invaluable space for a wide range of local people to set up a business, open a shop or put on an event. This process can help to quickly transform empty and derelict buildings into hubs used for business start-ups or community and art centres. It can have a knock on effect and revitalise city centres drawing in talent and investment from far and wide.

On a visit to Berlin to a project called Betahaus, Nick saw how collaborative working space in the heart of the creative district has been set up using derelict land and property.

“Leaving useful land in the North to languish is not only bad for business, it can hamper the success of an area in so many ways. Which is why I want to see empty buildings brought back to life and back in business.

“We need to understand what stands in the way of some of the most incredible space in the country being used, and make things more flexible so that we can fill these buildings with artists, start-ups, and other entrepreneurs to restore the buildings’ purpose and appeal.

“Through my Northern Futures initiative, I’m championing innovative ideas from people in the North to build a stronger economy and fairer society.”

To help unlock this potential, Nick will form a working group immediately – comprised of local government, businesses and charities – to investigate how more vacant buildings and land across the North can be brought back into temporary use. The group will explore sites with potential across Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Liberal Democrat Schools Minister David Laws has stated that more than 2,000 struggling schools could be turned around if effective support was in place.

At an interview at CentreForum, David said the standards in education had been threatened by the Conservatives’ determination to monitor all schools directly from Whitehall. He went on to say that the Conservatives had refused to introduce proper oversight for academies and free schools, relying only on the Department for Education.

According to David this led to large numbers of schools being left with no proper support to improve and as a result, several problems went unnoticed. He added that if all academy chains and local authorities were performing to their best, there would be 2,000 fewer schools requiring improvement, or in special measures.

“Here lies an inherent contradiction in the drive for autonomy – it has led to even more meddling from the centre.

“But this provides a limited capacity for scrutiny which inevitably drives attention towards only the very weakest schools.

“Regional Schools Commissioners are a response to this limited capacity and limited ability to micromanage from the centre. But they still cover absurdly large areas.

“As a consequence of not putting enough focus on a middle tier of accountability, we are allowing too many underperforming schools, weak local authorities and mediocre academy chains to deliver poor education for too long.

“Top down oversight, led by officials often hundreds of miles away, is allowing schools to slip through the net and contributing directly to lower standards.

“Many chains and local authorities across the country are doing a good job in driving up school performance.

“But others are lagging behind, with significantly higher levels of underperforming schools.

“If all local authorities and chains were performing at the level reached by many of the better middle tier bodies across the country, we would today have over 2,000 fewer ‘requires improvement and inadequate’ schools.”