Save the planet - work nearer home!

Local MP and member of the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee Tim Farron today asked the government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King to advise the Prime Minister to be, Gordon Brown to provide incentives for people to work nearer or even at, home where it is possible and practical.

Mr Farron was questioning Sir David in this morning's Environmental Audit Committee evidence session on the challenge of climate change.

After the meeting, Mr Farron said:

"The government should give tax incentives to employers and employees to ensure people don't need to travel from home so often by taking advantage of new technology to work from home where possible and appropriate. Obviously in some cases this will be impractical, but there are situations where it is possible and desirable.

"The threat of climate change is partly caused by the vast increase in car usage and this has been worsened by the fact that people on average live further from their place of work than used to be the case.

"The government should ensure that the remaining broadband blackspots, many of which are in Cumbria, are eliminated immediately and should back a well funded campaign to allow people to do work without adding to their carbon emissions."