Nick was responding to David Cameron’s speech on the economy yesterday, in which he announced plans to scrap taxes paid by basic rate taxpayers’ on savings interest and raise the level of non-taxable income for pensioners by £2,000 a year, and to Gordon Brown’s interview on Sunday, in which he spoke about government plans to bring forward £10bn of spending on public works, digital technology and environmental projects, claiming the programme would create 100,000 jobs.

Nick said that, to be taken seriously, David Cameron would have to identify what cuts he would make in public spending to fund his proposed tax cuts.

First we have an expensive VAT cut that doesn’t help people and now the Prime Minister announces he will create 100,000 jobs without any idea of how.

David Cameron is now offering his own fake giveaway. Cutting savings tax will mean someone saving £100 will only get an extra 40p a year.

As Nick has said, “If David Cameron is going to be taken seriously he has to identify what cuts he will make. How many fewer police officers will there be on the street and who will have a smaller pension?

“The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a detailed plan on how to put Britain on a green road out of recession. We have set out how we would make big, permanent and fair tax cuts, giving £1,000 in income tax cuts to families on average incomes.”

Green Road out of Recession

Before Christmas, Nick Clegg set out Liberal Democrat plans to put Britain on a Green Road out of the Recession, creating jobs and leaving a legacy that will save energy, put money back into people’s pockets and fight climate change.

The plans will cost £12.5bn, which would be paid for by scrapping the VAT cut. The vast majority of that money will be spent immediately, making a real impact on the economy and people’s lives right away.

The Green Road out of the Recession proposals to create jobs include:

· A five-year programme to insulate every school and hospital, with 20% completed in the first year
· Funding insulation and energy efficiency for a million homes, with a £1,000 subsidy for a million more
· Building 40,000 extra zero-carbon social houses
· Buying 700 new train carriages
· Reopening old railway lines and stations, opening new ones, electrifying the Great Western and Midland mainlines and beginning the Liverpool light rail network
· Installing energy and money saving smart meters in every home within five years 

Download the plan: http://www.libdems.org.uk/assets/0001/0042/GreenRoadOutofRecession.pdf

Only the Liberal Democrats have the man (Vince Cable) to do the Chancellor of the Exchequer job, and the policies to really tackle the recession.  

I have just visited the Acting Head Teacher at Upper Beeding Primary School to discuss the School Travel Plan, and was delighted to learn that the School had taken first place in the County Council’s Extra Mile Award, which had been run during the InternationalWalk To School week in October.

And Steyning Grammar School came joint second!

The winners of the Award was decided by the percentage of pupils within each school who travelled by a sustainable mode transport. Upper Beeding won with 95% and Steyning Grammar were joint second with 94%.

This is great news and shows that campaigning for School Travel Plans and the use of sustainable modes of transport does bring results. Well done everyone involved.

There was positive support at the Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC) meeting to this proposed new bus service.

I raised the need for early confirmation of a subsidy at the meeting in Partridge Green last Tuesday evening. I am pleased that the County Councillor for Henfield was very supportive to the Henfield Parish Council’s wish to see the use planning developer contributions for highways & transport in Henfield to help fund the first year operation of the new bus service. 

I stressed at the CLC meeting how essential it is for the County Officers to resolve any Horsham District Council and all the parish council support, so that, if confirmed, the new bus service could be operating by Easter next year. Hopefully such a new bus service would be successful and so able to continue after the first year on a commercial basis without subsidy.

In addition to those wishing to shop, attend leisure facilities or go to/visit relatives/friends at Worthing Hospital, the new bus service could be well used by people who work in Worthing and students going to college.

Should sufficient financial support be agreed, I consider that it would be useful for a joint committee to be formed to ensure that the operation of the new Compass Travel bus service is regularly reviewed. Every opportunity must also be taken to market the new service to holiday visitors to Worthing, as well as Worthing residents, to use it to visit our attractive small towns and villages north of the Downs.  

My wife, Ros, who was a Lib Dem candidate for Steyning at the Horsham District Elections last year, reports that once again the illegal parking in the High Street is causing chaos this afternoon.

Despite Horsham District Council operating the Civil Parking Enforcement Scheme on behalf of West Sussex County Council, their low level of enforcement in this part of the District leaves much to be desired.

Ros will now be chasing up the Tory District Councillor to honour his pledge to local people during the elections - to ensure that Horsham District carries out it’s functions in the south of the District to the same standard as in Horsham Town. It is clearly not doing so when it comes to this illegal on-street parking - so when will the Tory Cabinet Member concerned carry out his responsibilties?

The CLC meeting will start at 7 pm in Partridge Green Village Hall and there will be discussions on: -

*Flooding in our local area

*Waste Management update (the new facility to deal with all County household waste at Warnham near Horsham Town)

*Highways and Transport Schemes to be funded by developer contributions

*Highway Works Schedule 2009/10

*Community Initiative and Village Shops Programme funding.

Everybody is welcome to attend and there will be a public forum during the evening when people can make their views known on local issues and ask questions. Hopefully all those concerned about possible flooding in their area will attend, comment and ask the appropriate authorites how they are working together to reduce the risk of flooding. In addition, under the developer contribution debate I will be asking the CLC to approve, in principle, support for the proposed new daily, two hourly 106 bus service between Henfield and Worthing from Easter next year - support from local people at the meeting would be appreciated.

Following my meeting a few months ago with Chris Chatfield, Managing Director of Compass Travel, good progress is being made on the possible start next Easter of a new direct, two hourly daily bus between Henfield and Worthing via Upper Beeding and Steyning. (It is suggested that the first bus would leave Worthing at 7.15 am and return from Henfield at just after 8 am, reaching Worthing just before 9 am. The last bus would leave Worthing at 5.10 pm and return from Henfield just after 6 pm, reaching Worthing just before 7 pm.)

I have raised the matter with Bramber, Steyning and Upper Beeding Parish Councils, and Henfield Parish Council has also considered and welcomed the proposal (and asked their County Councillor to do the same). I have discussed the proposal with my colleagues on the Chanctonbury County Local Committee and intend to make a formal proposal regarding funding at the next CLC meeting at Partridge Green Village Hall on Tuesday 2 December.

Chris Chatfield has also had a very positive response from Henfield, Steyning and Bramber Parish Councils and Horsham District Council, although he has yet to meet with Upper Beeding Parish Council and Adur District Council (which will also be served by this new bus service).

The Public Transport Officer at the County Council is keen to increase the number of commercially sustainable bus routes in the County and has given a ’supportive but cautious’ response. There could also be some direct County Council financial support in relation to school transport which would give income for the route.

His caution about the proposal is mostly about the second year, as, if the number of passengers is good, but not financially viable without local authority support, the service would have to stop since the majority of the possible funding would only be available for one year.  

In my view, since many local people have been saying for a long time that they want this new bus service (and this is reflected in the support from most of the Parish Councils), this is a risk worth taking. If this ‘kick-start’ funding for the first year of operation is approved, for it to continue after that first year it will be up to local people of all ages to use the new bus service. 

Liberal Democrats in Arundel & South Downs are appalled at the train companies plans to impose an above inflation price increase of regulated fares, season tickets and saver tickets with an even steeper increase in unregulated fares.

The announcement of the inflation-busting fares hike on 21st November was met with an angry response by Derek Deedman, County Councillor for the Bramber Dastle Division.

“At a time when people are struggling with the recession, these fare increases, which the Government has agreed can come into effect on 2nd Janury 2009, will be adding to people’s difficulties and is stinging passengers for more cash.

“These rises could make the recession worse in this area and could lead to more congestion and pollution as people abandon public transport for their car instead.

“I want the government to step in and use the power they have over regulated fares to impose a freeze on ticket prices for a year. This could be paid for from within the Government’s road-widening budget. Locally the planned advanced spending on grade-separated junctions on the A24 should be abandoned – the accident prevention measures introduced by the County Council have worked and local people are completely opposed to the upgrading of the A24 to a virtual motorway.

“Just as the Government stepped in to freeze fuel duty for motorists because of the recession, they should change their mind and stop these price increases going ahead.

“Rail passengers will rightly feel that they are being held to ransom.  They have every right to feel angry with this price hike and with the Government for letting it happen.”

Subsidised bus services that operate under contract to the County Council in the Horsham District area are to be re-tendered during the winter 2008/9. The 1985 Transport Act requires that contracted bus services are re-tendered at least every five years, and the new contracts will run from the end of March 2009.

It is expected that the timetables on these services though my Division will for the most part remain the same as at present. Unfortunately the Tories are unlikely to make any additional County Council finance available to allow significant improvements to be made to any services.

The services which might be used by people from my area to be re-tendered are listed below:
Service 17 (Sundays) Horsham - Cowfold - Brighton: Two hourly operated by Compass Travel
Service 23 (Sundays) Horsham - Ashington - Worthing: Two hourly operated by Compass Travel
Service 100 Pulborough - Storrington - Steyning - Burgess Hill: Hourly operated by Compass Travel
Service 101 Horsham - Billingshurst - Pulborough: Hourly operated by Compass Travel
Services 108/109: Lancing - Steyning - Horsham: Shopping services operated by Compass Travel

The main concern about the present 100 timetable is that it runs at almost the same time as the 2A between Upper Beeding and Steyning. Clearly this is of no value to those residents who wish to just travel between the two. In addition, since the present 100 arrives in Upper Beeding from Small Dole just after the 2A has left for Shoreham, and in Upper Beeding going to Small Dole just before the 2A arrives in Upper Beeding from Shoreham, it is most unlikely that Small Dole residents will use the 100/2A as a way of going to/from Shoreham as they have to wait for nearly an hour before the next connection. I will be making these two points to the Public Transport Section reviewing these services, so that hopefully they can be addressed in the new contract.

If you have other comments or suggestions to make about any of these services please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be grateful if any comments you wish to make could be with me by early December

Upper Beeding Parish Council also agreed at it’s meeting last night to recommend to the Chanctonbury County Local Committee that planning development contributions related to transport schemes could be used to help fund a new footpath from Silver Birches in Small Dole to Woods Mill.

This scheme was suggested by former Lib Dem District Council candidate, Marian Brown, to enable Small Dole residents to visit the environmental centre without having to get into their cars for such a short distance.

The Parish Council is also supporting the possible daily bus service running every two hours from Henfield to Worthing, subject to confirmation of support from villagers. Hopefully the next Upper Beeding Parish newsletter will contain an article about this and people will respond to the Council in good numbers.

I will also be supporting these two schemes at the next Chanctonbury County Local Committee meeting.

This consultation exercise was closed on 14 August.

It was confirmed at the Countryside Access Forum for West Sussex that the outcome will be reviewed in due course by the Forum’s Off -Road Working Group.