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.
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.
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.
The Royal Mail have stated that their delivery service counter hours at Folkestone and Hythe Sorting Office counter are not to be cut. Shepway Lib Dems received the assurance from the Royal Mail after contacting the company having been approached by local residents who had heard of potential hours cuts.
MORE people are coming to Shepway for holiday and day trips, according to the latest Tourism South East survey of the local visitor economy. An estimated 3.7 million UK and overseas visitors are spending more than £197 million a year.
Water company Severn Trent faces a £35.8m fine by Ofwat, the biggest penalty ever imposed by the water industry regulator, and pleaded guilty to two fraud charges this morning. That means the company could be hit by a further sizeable fine next month. Severn Trent's chief executive, Tony Wray, admitted mistakes but blamed a "previous regime" at the firm. He apologised to the company's eight million customers and said the firm would cut bills by £10.6m, equivalent to £2.40 per household.