This Saturday will see local MP Tim Farron opening Kendal Eco Fair, an event held at the Castle Street Centre in Kendal. The event, organised by South Lakeland Action on Climate Change, aims to show how people can live greener lives, through a variety of talks and workshops. Visitors can also enjoy visiting the many diverse stalls, with activities such as face painting and a White Elephant stall.
Local MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming Tim Farron has today called on the Government to tighten up regulations on the importing of meat from EU countries, which has proved a major source of bluetongue outbreaks. Mr Farron is also repeating calls for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to press ahead in ordering more doses of the BTV8 vaccine.
Liberal Democrat MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming Tim Farron today registered his outrage at the closure of 'Food from Britain.' Food from Britain is the government body responsible for promoting British food abroad. The decision to 'wind up' the body came after DEFRA announced that the public funding for the body of around £4.7m each year was to be phased out by 2010/11. DEFRA is currently in the midst of a funding crisis, with one of the Government ministers responsible for DEFRA recently admitting to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that the animal welfare arm of DEFRA was to lose a third of its resources. Mr Farron has now launched an Early Day Motion in Parliament praising the work of Food from Britain and calling on the Government to act to safeguard the body in order to enhance British farm exports.
Local MP Tim Farron and Liberal Democrat Councillors have responded positively to growing concerns from constituents about the problem of dog fouling. As part of an initiative to raise awareness on this issue they have delivered specially designed biodegradable dog litter bags to every door in the constituency, along with the March edition of local Focus newsletters. Local Lib Dems have aimed to draw attention to the issue, and provide practical ways to deal with it. Those who received a bag who don't own a dog are asked to give theirs to a dog owner.
Local MP Tim Farron is planning to run and cycle the 24 mile route from the Langdale Valley to Westmorland General Hospital on Saturday 29 March to raise funds for the NHS SOS Campaign against the downgrading of acute services at the hospital. The Campaign group is attempting to raise funds in order to legally challenge the decision to close the heart and stroke units at Westmorland General Hospital.
Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron today challenged the nation's major supermarkets - Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's - to follow suit with their competitor Morrisons and source their meat from Britain. Morrisons announced last week that they would now source all beef from Britain, in addition to their already British lamb, pork and poultry, and Farron has written to the other major supermarkets asking them to follow suit. Furthermore, Mr Farron has posted a parliamentary motion, in order to gain support for this cause from his parliamentary colleagues.
