Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats

It looks as though the long wait for the final decision on the proposed lorry terminal in Park Street will soon be over.

The witnesses at the most recent Public Inquiry into Helioslough's proposal and other interested parties have just received a letter from the Department for Communities and Local Government which says:

Sir

Last week a Mr Bailey wrote about the cancellation of Welwyn Hatfield council's most recent meeting due to lack of business. This is not entirely accurate as the LibDem group had submitted a question to the council leader about a little-known change to council tax benefit which will mean many residents losing 25% of their benefit. I am pleased to say that on this occasion, leader John Dean has agreed with us.

Reacting to the European Council Conclusions on Growth this evening, Guy Verhofstadt,
President of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament said:

"EU leaders have failed in the only area where they could have made concrete progress today. Instead of decisive action they again chose procrastination. After 40 years of waiting, an agreement was found last year on a European patent but we still have to wait another six months for Member States to agree on the seat of the court causing further delay and costing jobs across the Union at a crucial moment."

The first ever review of a County Council Cabinet decision, which had been demanded by the Liberal Democrats, ended in disappointment as the Conservative majority refused to refer the issue back to Cabinet for re-consideration. The one-day meeting highlighted the lack of information which had been given to local groups throughout the process. and raised concerns about the level of uncertainty faced by the groups, even as the County Council continues its plan to sell off the land at the Ariston Works site on Harpenden Rd, St Albans.

Attempts to prevent 12 staff from being made redundant to save just £41,000 were scuppered this week after the Conservatives voted to get rid of the Schools Library Service.

During the debate on the cabinet decision at a scrutiny meeting on Wednesday 25th January, the Liberal Democrat group highlighted that the closure of the service had been agreed without any reference to the County's own Education and Skills Cabinet Panel, despite the service being used exclusively by Hertfordshire's schools.

Today in the Constitutional Affairs Committee a tied vote (11-11) meant that no decision was taken on Andrew Duff's report which recommended that the EU does not agree to the request of the former government of the Czech Republic to add a Protocol on the Charter to the Treaty of Lisbon.

The Czech Protocol was conceived in 2009 in order to persuade President Klaus to sign the Lisbon treaty. Mr Duff argues that an identical Protocol signed by the UK and Poland is a spurious and futile instrument which sows legal uncertainty and political confusion. He is supported in this view by the European Court of Justice and by the Czech Senate which threatens not to ratify the Czech Protocol.

With the Olympics just around the corner, the Liberal Democrats are fighting hard to ensure that a number of local sport groups aren't made homeless by a decision made at the County Council to sell off the land which they use: the former Ariston Works Site at Harpenden Road.

On Tuesday, members of Hertfordshire County Council's Overview & Scrutiny Committee visited the site to find out more about the site and the groups that use it. They were told that St Albans Judo Club has produced a number of national medal winners and the Pioneer Skate Park has hosted the Girl Skate Jam UK. Some of the councillors seemed visibly shocked when they heard how many young people used the facilities and the wide range of activities taking place there.

Lib Dems have been given assurances from the European Commission that countries which do not comply with new welfare rules for laying hens will be closely investigated and, if appropriate, taken to court.

Under intense political pressure from Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, the Commission confirmed its commitment to put in place infringement procedures as of January 2012.

The new landscaping in Wigmores North outside Sainsbury's is already suffering considerable damage. Skateboarders have been using the stonework around the flower beds for their hobby, damaging dozens of the stones despite the metal brackets put in to deter them. And many of the metal chains put in to help train the new trees have been broken almost certainly by people jumping up and down on them.