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.

What a conference we've had!

From motions to keynote speeches to training, there was something for everyone and the quality of debate was, as ever, excellent.

We also got a huge amount of press coverage. Our stunning win in Chesham and Amersham has put us back in the spotlight - and the media are beginning to see that only we can dismantle the Tory Blue Wall.

Councillor Helen Hall is one of four founder members of Plastic Free Burton, a branch of the East Staffordshire Fairtrade Group. This group is part of the national initiative, organised by the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage, and follows on from the initiation of Plastic Free Uttoxeter. The group have already received the backing of key businesses and groups, including Morrisons, Central England Co-Operative, Trent & Dove, Burton ReRun and the Co-Operative Learning Trust. Helen backed the motion at Full Council, which was unanimously passed by ESBC to pledge their support for Plastic Free Burton.

Councillor Helen Hall writes about plans to close the existing Library in Burton on Trent

"At Full Council in July I supported the petition presented by Becky Talbot, entitled 'Save our Library and Market Hall'. 2317 residents had signed the petition. It appealed against the Burton Town Deal Board plans to close the library and move it into the current market hall, thereby losing both the market hall as a market and the prime riverfront location where the library currently stands. I spoke after Becky's presentation, putting forward our group's feeling that the library will be diminished if it moves into the market hall, especially as it will be combined with other County Council facilities under the same roof. It would cause the loss of the indoor market and push out the business-owners who are currently there. It would have only a small amount of parking and plans for the current library site are vague. I'm convinced that much better use could be made of the £7.3 million pot of Government funding for Burton. East Staffordshire Borough Council have failed to capitalise on the £1.5million refurbishment in 2013, and are not embracing the renaissance in markets that Britain is undergoing."

England

Politics works in very different ways in different parts of the Country. And the picture is time dependent too. By the end of Saturday, Lib Dems were marginally down on the number of seats, with a net loss of 34 seats. But, by Sunday night, when all the results were in, the picture had become a small net gain of 7 seats and 1 council gained. On days one and two most of the council votes were in urban areas in the North. But later results tended to be from counties and districts in the South.

Councillor Helen Hall writes:

In 2019 Burton upon Trent was selected to be one of 100 towns that was eligible to bid for up to £25m from the Government's Towns Fund. In order to do this, a Town Deal Board was established made up of representatives from the community, public, and private sectors.

As part of the application process, the Town Deal Board has been tasked with creating a Town Investment Plan for Burton, a document which sets out the vision and ambitions for the town if it were successful in its funding bid.

From Councillor Helen Hall on 10 Sept

Delighted that the gullies have been emptied on Uxbridge Street (my side of the street) for the first time since I joined the council. I'm hoping that the drains I listed around the town will also get done, especially, the numerous ones in Wetmore Road

Cllr Hall writes:

In the current crisis, businesses in East Staffordshire could be eligible for rates reductions and/or business grants. ESBC have contacted all eligible businesses, but a response needs to be made back to the council to claim your entitlement.

Payments started to be made just before Easter, and applications are being processed as quickly as possible. If you have a small business premises or retail, leisure and hospitality premises you should be eligible for either the £10,000 or £25,000 grant (depending on your rateable value), and if you have not received a letter from the council please email the revenues team on nndr@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk.

Liberal Democrats in Lichfield, Burton and Tamworth constituencies started the new year refreshed and determined to do better in future elections.

A well attended and lively members and supporters meeting in February discussed the recent General Election - both national and our own local campaigns.

The meeting was led by Lichfield Councillor and GE candidate Paul Ray and East Staffordshire (Burton) Councillor Helen Hall. All three constituencies had increased their share of the vote but there was much to learn for us all. Views on the national campaign were to be passed onto the National Party review panel set up to learn from the 2019 General Election and the months leading up to it.