The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.
Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, has welcomed today's commitment from the Heritage Minister, Huw Lewis, that he will support calls to improve the provision of Welsh language and Wales-related television programming in North Wales. Currently, many areas of North Wales cannot receive Welsh programming through BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C. The situation has been exacerbated as a result of transmitter changes in England after Wales' digital switchover.
Brecon and Radnorshire, Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams has welcomed today's call by the Deputy Prime Minister to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 sooner than originally planned.
The Government increased the tax allowance by £1,000 in the 2010 Budget, from £6,475 to £7,475. This year we have already announced a planned rise of an additional £630, to take the allowance up to £8,105. Meaning that a total of 1.1 million more people will no longer pay income tax at all.
Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne has announced that Cwmdu Sustainable Energy Group and Llangattock Green Valleys in Powys will be receiving over £137,000.00 from the first £4m allocation from the Local Energy Assessment Fund.
The Cwmdu Sustainable Energy Group and Llangattock Green Valleys are two of the first of around 80 local energy projects to win funding from the new £10m Local Energy Assessment Fund.
Post Offices in Mid and West Wales have been saved by Liberal Democrat Business Minister, Ed Davey.
After ending Labour's shameful Post Office closure programme, which saw more than 7100 Post Offices disappear in their 13 years in office, Ed Davey has announce a ten-year deal between the Post Office and the Royal Mail has been reached.
The Medical Director of NHS Wales, Dr. Chris Jones, today admitted in the National Assembly's Health Committee that one of the reasons for low recruitment levels to the Welsh NHS was down to poor services.
Responding to questions on low junior doctor recruitment levels prompted by Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, the NHS Medical Director said that "some of our services are intrinsically unattractive"
Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Local Government, Peter Black, has welcomed the decision by the Welsh Government that it is no longer planning to legislate to force local councils to collaborate.
The Minister's announced in July 2011 set out the Welsh Government's intention to bring forward a Local Government (Collaborative Measures) Bill, giving Ministers the power to merge local councils. The Minister has now told Plenary that as a result of the Welsh Local Government Compact committing local authorities to further collaboration, and because of their progress that has been achieved already, he is "minded that there is no immediate need for further legislation in the area of collaboration."
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to work with the Coalition in Westminster to ensure that comparable school expenditure statistics can once again be made available.
Last week, it was announced that the 'Local Authority Budgeted Expenditure on Schools 2011-12: Wales and England Comparison' was to be discontinued because of changes in education policy in England meant it was not possible to produce comparable figures.
William Powell AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesman, has today written to John Griffiths AM, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, to urge him to consider the full potential benefits of an application to allow a production company to film upon Mynydd y Llan in the Brecon Beacons National Park for three months.
William Powell, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, has today welcomed the UK Government's decision to delay its changes to Feed-in-Tariff (FiTs) rates. After losing its case in the High Court, the UK Government has imposed a new registration deadline of 3rd March, with the proposed drastically reduced rates taking effect on 1st April. However, should the UK Government win its appeal; the previous deadline of 12th December, 2011 will still be imposed.
Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children and Young People in the National Assembly, has called on the Welsh Government to make sure that adequate resources are available to meet the demands of planned expansion of the Flying Start scheme.
Flying Start is a Welsh Government scheme aimed at providing additional support to families with children under the age of four who live in deprived areas of Wales.
