Wokingham Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dems in Wokingham have been campaigning for years for short term free parking in the Borough to help boost trade and are delighted that one local MP, John Redwood, has been converted to the cause. Mr Redwood is asking for some free parking in Wokingham town to allow people to pop in to buy a newspaper or a loaf of bread without being deterred by car park charges.

The Coalition Government has announced a £150 million boost for school sports nationally from September. Every state primary school in the Wokingham Borough will receive funding for sports in 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The funding is the equivalent of around two days a week of a primary teacher's time to provide more sport for their pupils. Wokingham Borough's schools will receive more than £400,000 in funding.

Liberal Democrat Councillors are extremely concerned about the additional costs of OPTALIS - the Wokingham Borough Council owned company that provides adult social care to the Borough's residents. A Special Council Executive Meeting was held on 28th March at which councillors were asked to approve a £50,000 injection into OPTALIS to help balance its books for the year 2012/13.

Liberal Democrats last night successfully urged the Council to keep a focus on helping create local Apprenticeships.

Liberal Democrat councillors last night proposed that Wokingham Borough Council create a cross party group to look at improving the Council's management of existing and future contracts. Co-ordinating this work across the whole of the council's services would ensure that suppliers are delivering exactly what the Council wants at the best possible price.

Local Liberal Democrat councillors have become increasingly concerned about the use of money paid to the Council for the benefit of local communities. The council receives money when a development takes place to fund essential local community requirements such as roads, schools and libraries. Frustration with lack of information about this money led to Lib Dem questions at last night's Wokingham Borough Council meeting.

Wokingham Borough Council's Liberal Democrat Group of Councillors is celebrating a Local Government Association award for Liberal Democrat 'Opposition Group of the Year Joint Winner 2013'. It was presented to the group Leader Cllr Prue Bray at the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference in Brighton on 8^th March by Nick Clegg.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has closed the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Brighton by calling on members to spread the message of the Party's commitment in Government to deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society.

In his keynote Leader's speech, Nick paid tribute to the work of the Party in winning the Eastleigh by-election, beating the Conservatives into third place and squeezing Labour while campaigning on the Lib Dem record of delivering in Government.

Local Lib Dems have mounted a furious attack on the Conservatives over their plans to focus spending on Wokingham as their "key" town, to the exclusion of all other parts of the Borough. The Conservatives have announced plans to spend almost £100 million on Wokingham town centre, including a new station link road and a revamped railway station, with almost no money planned to be spent on improvements elsewhere in the Borough.