East Sussex will receive an extra £1,038,818 for social care which will mean that people can leave hospitals earlier and receive better care at home, according to local MP, Norman Baker.
The extra money comes from an extra £150million announced by the government which is to be spent on shortening unnecessary hospital stays across the busy winter period. The cash can be used to access various preventative services, such as better care support, crisis response teams and specialist equipment, and comes on top of the bumper £648million already given to Primary Care Trusts this financial year to support social care services.
Lib Dems in Government making sure every young person has a fair chance
The Lib Dems in Government are taking real action to tackle youth unemployment. Every young person who wants it will be guaranteed a job, training or work placement.
The Youth Contract will create over 400,000 new jobs and 250,000 new work experience placements to help young people across Britain to get into work.
A local c ampaign that started out as a battle to save the school buses to Chailey and Tideway schools from East Sussex County Council cuts has now become a national issue over reforming government guidelines being debated in Parliament.
Local Lib Dem Councillor Sarah Osborne has not only managed to get many MP's from all parties to support her campaign to save school transport, but has a agreement from the Minister for Children and Families to reconsider some of the current guidelines issued to Local Authorities.
OVESCO and Barcombe Energy Group have been provided with nearly £85,000 of the government's first allocation of money from the Local Energy Assessment Fund, according to figures provided to the local MP, Norman Baker, who has welcomed the financial boost to local energy efficiency projects.
The LEAF money was announced by the Lib Dem Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, which is available to communities in England and Wales who are playing an active role in the development of a low carbon society, with money available to finance projects that increase understanding and uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
The Autumn Statement has confirmed that the proposed rise of RPI+3 to rail fares in 2012 has been scrapped. This is a win for local MP, Norman Baker, who has fought tirelessly to secure the scrapping of the proposed rise.
Under the government's plans, and as a result of servicing the legacy of debt left by the previous government, rail fares were planned to increase at a rate of RPI+3 in 2012. Much of the rise was to finance the largest investment in the rail network since Victorian times, including the completion of Thameslink and Crossrail in their entirety, the provision of 2,700 new carriages, the electrification of large parts of the rail network and the redoubling of railway lines, with much more besides.
Conservative-run East Sussex County Council has come under fire again over its failure to ensure that a children's school route is safe. Local police have now stated that the route is potentially dangerous to walk even if there are only a few adults in the groups.
Local parents are outraged that Conservative councillors still say it is safe for their children to walk down unlit country lanes with no pavements and a 60 mph speed limit, but refuse to walk the route themselves.
The Conservative Council has angered parents by ignoring villagers concerns over the future of their school bus service. Local parents and Lib Dem Councillor Sarah Osborne organised a petition signed by almost 500 people and got a cross-party vote from the District Council to try and save their school transport.
Local Lib Dem Councillor Sarah Osborne has been championing rural concerns and has been helping parents organise an adult only protest walk along the route.
However, following police advice over the risks to adult safety Cllr Sarah Osborne said "I would not want to put anyone in danger and as the police sensibly pointed out, bad weather conditions may well make the walk to school that day especially hazardous, so I have cancelled the walk. It's shameful that the County Council don't show the same concern for the children of East Chiltington."
In a letter to Sarah, Lewes District Police Commander Natalie Moloney said: "My advice would be that the roads are not suitable for a large group to walk along and to do so would be potentially dangerous. I believe that apart from Mill Lane there are no pavements and the national speed limit applies.
When Councillor Sarah Osborne asked the police what would be the maximum number of people that could walk this route before it was potentially dangerous, the District Commander replied,
"I would personally feel comfortable walking in a group of 4 knowing that I was in close enough proximity to be able to shout a warning of oncoming traffic to the person at the rear" The District Commander went on to say "I appreciate this will not be the advice you were hoping for but I must consider what is safe in the circumstances for all road users."
Local Lib Dem MP Norman Baker said "If the police say a road is unsafe for adults to walk, how can the Council County possibly say it's safe for children? They need to look again at this urgently."
Local Lib Dem Councillor Sarah Osborne is making a name for herself as a rural champion as she leads the fight against the Conservative County Council's decision to endanger local school children by scrapping the school bus service in East Chiltington.
Sarah Osborne is now to meet Tim Loughton MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families with local Lib Dem MP Norman Baker. Sarah Osborne is taking the local campaign to parliament to raise local concerns about the assessments of walking routes to school.
The Conservative led Lewes District Council has endangered a 40 year old small tyre business in Newhaven after it announced that council would no longer be using a local tyre service and instead opt for the a national company owned by Michelin, going against the council's pledge to support and protect local businesses within the district.
East Sussex County Council's u-turn on the Student Rail Card has been warmly welcomed by local MP, Norman Baker.
The local MP was contacted by a number of constituents from Seaford who raised concerns about the county council's decision to no longer subsidise the card which gives a 34% discount on rail season tickets for students who are in full time education at college or sixth form and the impact that this would have on local students.
In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."
