Local MP Tim Farron has discovered the worrying truth that Westmorland General Hospital has been on 'red alert' status for more or less the entirety of the past week following conversations with hospital employees. Red alert status means that there are no available beds for incoming patients.
Liberal Democrat MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming Tim Farron today criticised the Government's attitude over bee health in England as "complacent." Mr Farron had recently written to Farming Minister Lord Rooker and issued a public demand that DEFRA act on the threat to the honey bee, which Lord Rooker himself noted contributed an estimated £165m in yields to the English horticulture industry.
Local MP Tim Farron is today writing to Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in order to try and secure his support to extend gift aid to tickets sold by arts charities. Gift aid is a scheme which allows charities to reclaim the tax on monetary donations, and Tim Farron MP is attempting to extend this to tickets sold by arts charities in order to provide a welcome boost to arts charities both in Westmorland and Lonsdale and nationwide. In particular, Mr Farron singled out the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal for praise, noting the Centre's contribution to both culture and the community. If the Brewery Arts Centre could claim gift aid on its cinema ticket sales, for example, it would make a huge difference.
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.
