Low income households in East Staffs, Lichfield and Tamworth districts are paying too much for their broadband because the Government has not forced providers to offer cheaper tariffs, an analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.

So-called 'social tariffs', which typically offer broadband access between £10 and £20 a month, are only currently offered by some providers. But changes to the law that came into force last year mean that the Government now has the ability to force broadband providers to offer these cheaper deals.

It is always said you need to go through the budget in a lot of detail over a number of days before drawing final conclusions. However it is possible to draw a number of early conclusions which are worth keeping in mind amongst the blizzard of numbers and promised spending increases

1 It is not a budget to stop climate change . After last weeks green policy announcements the budget poured cold water on the governments green agenda and the decision to freeze petrol duties for a 12th year, a £21bn spend on new roads and reduce taxes on flights inside the UK is both bizarre and risks undermining our case at the upcoming COP26 conference. It is clear the government are outsourcing climate change to the private sector

There is much concern about this bill currently passing through Parliament. A coalition of pro-democracy organisations has come together to write to the newly appointed minister. The text of the letter clearly decribes the dangers of the bill. Further in formation is available from https://unlockdemocracy.org.uk/ Read on for the full text of the letter