A very Happy New Year to you all.

The new Lincoln Liberal Democrat team took office yesterday and their contact details are available in the Committee Contacts Section of the website.

From all at Lincoln Liberal Democrats, we wish you a Merry Christmas and the very best for 2012

Long serving Liberal Democrat Lincolnshire County Councillor for Nettleham and Saxilby, Ray Sellars, is delighted that forty years of campaigning for the Lincoln Eastern By-pass has resulted in the project’s approval in the National Infrastructure Plan published on 29 November by the Coalition Government.

Cllr Sellars said “For years the project was ignored by both Labour and Conservative Governments. Then Norman Baker the first Liberal Democrat Transport Minister not only approves this scheme but with the active support of local Conservative MPs persuaded the Treasury to almost halve the debt on the Humber Bridge so that tolls will reduce from £3 to £1.50.”

Cllr Sellars thinks that based on the track record of the past forty years no Conservative Government would have introduced such important measures for Lincolnshire. These are just two Liberal Democrat inspired measures the Coalition Government have implemented.

Councillor Sellars reports that he spoke with transport Minister Norman Baker who was delighted to approve the Lincoln Eastern By-pass, a scheme first mooted 75 years ago, as the project would clearly benefit the people and economy of Lincolnshire. Mr Baker who campaigned for the reduction of the debt on the Humber Bridge when Liberal Democrat’s were in opposition.

Councillor Sellars says: “The Government’s aim is to formalise the write down before the end of the 2011-12 financial year.”

Commenting on the Youth Contact which has today been announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, Lincoln Lib Dem Vice Chair, Heather Cullen said:

“With youth unemployment rising considerably under Labour and currently standing at a worryingly high level, the Coalition Government is determined to ensure we don’t lose a generation of young people because of the mistakes of this generation.
“We know that school leavers being out of work for a long period of time can have a drastic effect on the rest of their lives. So today’s announcement by Nick Clegg will ensure that every young person has the start in life that they deserve. What makes this package unique is that it gets young people into training or lasting employment, ensuring they don’t fall behind.
“When money is tight, Liberal Democrats are determined to do the right thing and prioritise the future of our young people. We will make sure those who are willing and able have the opportunities and support they need to make sure no one falls behind.”

The Coalition Government has announced measures to clamp down on unfair bank charges following a review of consumer credit and personal insolvency.

Liberal Democrats have led calls to end unfair bank charges and give consumers more choice. Today’s announcement also includes measures to:

• End introductory offers for store cards that tempt customers into expensive credit arrangements
• Ensure bank customers have the option of getting text or email alerts if they are close to going into the red

The Coalition Government’s response came from Liberal Democrat Business Minister Ed Davey and follows last year’s Private Members Bill calling for an end to unfair bank charges by Co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Business Committee, Lorely Burt.

Commenting, Ross Pepper, Lincoln Lib Dem Chair said:

“The measures are a welcome step for consumers. They will provide transparency and security without burdening businesses with additional regulation and legislation. These steps demonstrate what the Coalition Government can achieve by working closely with industry.

“Liberal Democrats have always been at the forefront in taking on unfair bank charges. We were the only party to challenge them in our manifesto and now we’re making sure something is done about them by the Coalition Government.

“”Many people tell me how annoyed they are at the extortionate level of charges that people can be hit with by going a couple of pounds over their overdraft. Giving people the option of having email/text alerts when they are near to going overdrawn, can cut the chance of people accidentally going overdrawn and getting stung with big charges. They also help people avoid being hit by rip off rates on store card deals. This agreement will give individuals real control over their finances and provide the transparency that Liberal Democrats have long been calling for.”"

As usual, questions to the Deputy Prime Minister this week covered a large variety of subjects. Nick Clegg was on passionate form on several issues.

Commenting on today’s statement on public sector pension reform, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

“Today’s offer is a clear step forward and hopefully close to a final agreement that will ensure that public sector pensions are protected, while also being fair to the taxpayer.

“The Coalition Government and the unions have been negotiating for many months now in an attempt to find a suitable solution, while Labour has been noticeably absent from the debate.

“It is extraordinary that on an issue as important as the pension of millions of public sector workers, Labour is silent. Ed Miliband now needs to tell us where he stands.”

LGBT Equality Minister, Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone, today announced that in five weeks’ time – on December 5th – the law will change to permit civil partnership ceremonies to be conducted at religious premises in England and Wales. The date is six years to the day since the first civil partnership ceremony held in the UK.

Lynne said: “The government is advancing equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people and ensuring freedom of religion for people of all faiths. No religious group will be forced to host a civil partnership registration, but for those who wish to do so this is an important step forward.”

Manchester Withington Liberal Democrat MP, John Leech, has put down an excellent Early Day Motion in Parliament;

“That this House welcomes the commitment of the Coalition Government to increase the personal allowance to £10,000 by 2015; recognises that increases in the personal allowance have already taken hundreds of thousands of the lowest paid tax payers out of paying income tax altogether and that further increases in the personal allowance will benefit all taxpayers, but benefit the poorest taxpayers more as a proportion of their income; welcomes the recent increase in the minimum wage to £6.08 for adults over 21, which translates into a £228 weekly wage based on a 37.5 hour week, or £11,856 per year; believes that any future reductions in direct taxation should be targeted at the poorest taxpayers rather than the rich; and therefore believes that any further reductions in direct taxation should be further increases in the personal allowance with the aim of taking those on the national minimum wage out of paying income tax altogether.”

The Deputy Prime Minister met with small business leaders this morning to announce a new system of regulation “designed for busy, working people”.

Below are extracts from his speech:

“The debate over regulation has been polarised around two extremes – on the one hand is the idea that it fixes every problem. Rules, targets, monitoring, endless government diktats to chivvy business in the right direction; mountains of form-filling so we can keep an eye on you.

“Previously, the approach has been ‘when in doubt, legislate’. We saw it in public services, in the criminal justice system and, on average, British businesses were lumbered with six new regulations every working day. Thousands of different rules were left on the statute books – because new rules are free; they’re easy; they make Ministers feel in control.

“On the other hand, you have the deregulation diehards who say we should scrap it all. They oppose regulation vehemently; on principle. The state has no business restricting business, and all we need to do to get the economy growing again is tear up the rule book; scrap environmental protections, workers’ rights, consumer rights and, hey presto, we’ll get business booming.

“Of course deregulation plays a role, but supply side liberalisation is not the be-all-and-end-all for growth. There is simply no evidence that – on its own – it is enough.

“So both extremes are ridiculous. And I’m not interested in a false debate about ‘how much’ regulation; I’m interested in what works.

“When I was working in Europe as an MEP, I campaigned for less red tape, I helped craft laws cutting it. Because liberals don’t believe in rules for rules sake. We believe in intelligent, effective regulation that gets the balance right. And I’ve been working hard over the last 18 months, and will continue to do so, to restore the balance.

“So the Coalition is on a mission to liberate small business. We have set ourselves the challenge of being the first British Government to leave office having reduced the overall burden rather than increased it.

“First, we’re halting the tide of new regulation. To that end, Vince Cable has introduced a radical one-in-one-out policy. It is the first of its kind in the world, and the Business Secretary has made new regulation a last resort in Whitehall.

“On top of limiting new rules, we’re also hacking away at the ones that already exist. Our Red Tape Challenge invites ordinary people to identify overlaps, complexity and to highlight where the benefits are out of synch with the costs. That project has already looked at 400 regulations just in retail and hospitality. Over half – 220 – will be simplified or scrapped.

“Where people have expressed support for regulation, we’re keeping it. Like with the hallmarking system for gold and silver. But, if it’s tedious and pointless, its going. So no more insisting that a shop selling kitchen descaler has a poisons licence. No more having to pay for a piece of paper just to put on a little live music in a pub. Where there were twelve pieces of legislation on consumer rights, we’re collapsing them into one.

“The end result will be a system designed for busy, working people rather than a job creation scheme for accountants and lawyers. And a system that saves you money. The Coalition’s attack on red tape has already saved British businesses £3 billion. A further £600 million worth of savings could come just from the decision to exempt more companies from being audited.

“And there is another, specific, area of work I can unveil this morning. Changing the mindset within central government is one thing. But we make the rules – we don’t enforce them. There are a range of bodies responsible for inspection: HMRC, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive, to name a few. And they need to undergo this culture change too. They need to understand that their job is to make your life easier, not harder.

“So there will be a major shake up of business inspection – going through the regulators, asking ‘are they still necessary?’; ‘Should they still exist?’; making sure that, yes, they intervene when necessary, they offer advice and support, but otherwise they let you get on with it.

“They will need to respect the Regulators’ Compliance Code, which says regulators must think about and encourage economic growth. And they will have to make sure they aren’t breathing down your necks. Why, for example, should regulators be able to turn up at your door whenever they want and as often as they want? Why can’t we limit the number of inspections to, say, two a year, ensuring these bodies coordinate amongst themselves to stick within that limit?

“We also know that which-body-does-what can be extremely unclear. So we’re minimising the number of authorities you will have to deal with in the future, introducing sunset clauses for new regulators, placing them under rolling review; if they become irrelevant, or their functions are replicated elsewhere, they’ll go.”