http://www.timfarron.co.uk/newsarchive.php Recent News Stories from Tim Farron MP en-GB Tim Farron MP http://www.timfarron.co.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2008 Tim Farron MP 2008-05-09T21:59+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000412/youth_surgeries_a_huge_success_says_local_mp.html Local MP Tim Farron has hailed the youth surgeries held at three estates in Kendal last week as a huge success after meeting with over a hundred young people on the Hallgarth, Kirkbarrow and Sandylands estates. Tim played twelve games of five-a-side football on the multi use games areas with the local youngsters before sitting down to discuss issues of concern. 2008-04-10T10:18+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000411/vince_cable_to_join_tim_farron_in_fight_to_save_post_offices.html This Friday, Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor, will be visiting Beetham Post Office from around 9.30am with Tim Farron and a group of children from local schools to show how strong support is for the Post Office. 2008-04-10T10:17+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000410/farron_seeks_commitment_to_restore_northern_rock_arts_and_heritage_funding_to_cumbria.html Local MP Tim Farron has written to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Rock Foundation, Alastair Balls today in an effort to secure guarantees that arts and heritage projects will receive significant backing. Since the bank was fully nationalised last month it has been confirmed that the Foundation will receive a guaranteed minimum of £15m per year. It had been feared that the Foundation's funding would disappear completely - a huge blow for charities in the North West. 2008-04-10T10:17+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000409/farron_praises_community_spirit_in_battle_to_save_leven_valley_post_office.html Local MP Tim Farron has praised the spirit of the members of the Leven Valley community who attended a recent meeting to save their post office in great numbers despite the dispersed nature of their community. The meeting, chaired by Clive Leal and Debbie Harte, - who between them run the post office - was held in response to the news that Leven Valley Post Office had been earmarked for closure and replacement with an inadequate 'outreach' service. Nearly 250 people attended the meeting to back the campaign against closure. 2008-04-10T10:16+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000408/save_greenodd_post_office_campaign_moves_to_bypass_opening.html Local MP Tim Farron will respectfully decline an invitation to attend the new £36m A590 High and Low Newton bypass tomorrow in favour of joining a protest, which will take place at the opening, against the closure of Greenodd post office. The branch at Greenodd is slated to be replaced by a so-called 'outreach' service which will involved much-reduced accessibility. 2008-04-10T10:15+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000407/budget_cuts_could_cost_lives__farron.html Local MP Tim Farron has hit out at plans from the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust that will see £40m cut from their budget over the next five years. The Trust, which runs Westmorland General Hospital, Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary has hired accountants Ernst and Young to identify the savings, at a cost of around £75,000 a month for the next four months. 2008-04-10T10:15+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000406/mp_uncovers_truth_on_trust_red_alert_status.html 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. 2008-04-10T10:14+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000405/farron_slams_government_over_bee_health.html 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. 2008-04-10T10:13+01:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000404/farron_to_open_kendal_eco_fair.html 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. 2008-03-27T15:00+00:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000403/farron_fights_for_kendal_arts_in_westminster.html 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. 2008-03-27T15:00+00:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000402/dog_fouling_fight_goes_to_every_door.html Local MP Tim Farron and Liberal Democrat Councillors have responded positively to growing concerns from constituents about the problem of dog fouling. As part of an initiative to raise awareness on this issue they have delivered specially designed biodegradable dog litter bags to every door in the constituency, along with the March edition of local Focus newsletters. Local Lib Dems have aimed to draw attention to the issue, and provide practical ways to deal with it. Those who received a bag who don't own a dog are asked to give theirs to a dog owner. 2008-03-26T15:00+00:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000401/closure_of_food_from_britain_will_hit_british_farm_exports_says_farron.html 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. 2008-03-26T15:00+00:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000400/farron_urges_bluetongue_import_clampdown.html 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. 2008-03-26T15:00+00:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000398/999_dash_with_tim_farron_mp.html Local MP Tim Farron is planning to run and cycle the 24 mile route from the Langdale Valley to Westmorland General Hospital on Saturday 29 March to raise funds for the NHS SOS Campaign against the downgrading of acute services at the hospital. The Campaign group is attempting to raise funds in order to legally challenge the decision to close the heart and stroke units at Westmorland General Hospital. 2008-03-26T10:13+00:00 http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000399/farron_challenges_supermarkets_to_buy_british.html Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron today challenged the nation's major supermarkets - Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's - to follow suit with their competitor Morrisons and source their meat from Britain. Morrisons announced last week that they would now source all beef from Britain, in addition to their already British lamb, pork and poultry, and Farron has written to the other major supermarkets asking them to follow suit. Furthermore, Mr Farron has posted a parliamentary motion, in order to gain support for this cause from his parliamentary colleagues. 2008-03-25T15:00+00:00