A key policy at the last General Election for the Lib Dems was to bring in a ‘Pupil Premium’ to help children from poorer backgrounds get a better education.

Last autumn Liberal Democrats in government were able to announce that every school would get £488 a year per pupil who was eligible for free school meals.

Across West Dorset that means £617,002 of new funding available to local schools.

“So, in spite of the harsh economic climate and public sector cuts, most of our schools will be better off,” says County Councillor Trevor Jones. “This is just the start. The Pupil Premium will more than treble by 2015.” This is an effective example of Liberal Democrats making a real difference in government!

What the Pupil Premium will mean this year:

Full details are contained in the attached spreadsheet PUPIL-PREMIUM-ALLOCATIONS-TO-SCHOOLS-2011-12.xls.

Amazingly, official figures show that one in five houses in Lyme Regis is a second home.

For the whole of West Dorset around one in twenty houses are second homes.

This means that there are 2,500 homes across the district unavailable for local people to live in – with many of them empty for much of the year.

Depending on their circumstances the owners of these second homes can get up to a 50% reduction in their Council Tax! This is a huge loss to local councils at a time of very tight budgets and cuts to local services.

“Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for second homes to be taxed fully,” says Cllr. Andy Canning, the Chair of West Dorset Liberal Democrats.

“In opposition there wasn’t much we could do, but in government we can make sure that all homes are taxed fairly.”

As a result of work undertaken by Liberal Democrat Communities Minister, Andrew Stunnell, the Coalition Government is looking to make changes to make Council Tax fairer.

These include:

• an end to the mandatory discount on second homes
• an end to the mandatory discount for the first six months on empty homes
• giving the council the ability to charge an empty tax premium of up to 50% on homes that are empty for more than two years.

There will still be some exemptions to allow for when an owner has died or gone into hospital or a care home.

“At a time when so many local young people can’t get onto the property ladder it is totally wrong to be offering tax discounts for people with second or empty homes,” added Cllr. Canning.

“In government the Liberal Democrats are helping to bring more homes back into use for local people and ensuring that second home owners are paying their fair share of local tax. This will help our councils maintain key local services in these difficult times.”

	to a 10% cut in the District’s Council Tax
	to keeping open Day Care Centres
	to saving School Crossing Patrols
	to building more Affordable Homes
	to keeping open local libraries

West Dorset Liberal Democrats can afford to do all this by:

• cancelling Conservative plans to spend £10 million on new Council Offices, £6 million on a new Dorchester Library and up to £4 million on a new Dorchester Park & Ride
• using some of the £50 million in investments that the Conservative Council has built up ‘for a rainy day’ and
• merging local councils, as they have done in Cornwall and Wiltshire recently, which independent experts have estimated will save £20 million

“On May 5th either the Liberal Democrats will be in control of West Dorset District Council, the new Council Offices will be cancelled and local services will be saved or the Conservatives will be back again, the Offices will be built and the cuts will go ahead. No other result is possible here.”

Local trader Matt signs Franny Allen

The number 71 Town Bus is set to go to the Historic Cobb in Lyme Regis before Christmas, campaigners were delighted to hear. Members of Lyme Town Council first raised this issue 3 years ago and received many excuses, but it seems that a petition signed by 300 residents and local traders, organized by local Liberal Democrats has made a real difference. They were also supported by articles and pictures in the Bridport and Lyme News.

Franny Allen a Lyme resident and Lib Dem activist said, “When I organized the petition this summer I was overwhelmed by the level of support. Cobb traders and residents said they had not been asked their views before. The Cobb is quite cut off from the town and staff working there, plus residents and tourists, all told me they would find a regular bus down the very steep Cobb hill a real boon.”

The petition supported by a letter setting out the views of local people was presented to the Town Council in August by Franny Allen and Ann Sargant, Chair of Lyme Regis and Marshwood Vale Lib Dems. It was also sent to First Bus Company and Dorset County Council. It is expected that the number 71 Town Bus will link the Cobb with the town for all its regular timetabled runs. Laura Noel, Branch Secretary, said “This is a victory for community action. Getting to the Cobb by bus rather than by car is great for the environment and much more affordable for local people living and working in this historic area.”

The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for the introduction of doorstep recycling – now they are calling for the range of products being collected to be increased.

“We must follow leading Lib Dem Councils, such as South Somerset, in collecting kitchen waste for recycling and look again at collecting plastic,” added Caroline.

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