Children’s mental health to get £1.25 billion boost

Nick Clegg has announced £1.25 billion of new funding for children’s mental health services.

The money, spread over five years, will help treat 110,000 more children with mental health issues, and also provides rapid access to treatment for pregnant women and new mothers.

As part of the package, Nick also announced that the first ever-waiting time standards for children’s mental health will be introduced, and specialists in children’s talking therapy will be available in every part of the country by 2018. The funding will also extend access to services for children under five and those with autism and learning disabilities.

Three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health condition and research shows that left untreated it can blight their adult lives. But until now, provision of appropriate care has been insufficient to meet their needs.

Children and young people with conditions like depression or anxiety, self harm or at risk of suicide will now get access to more therapy, parenting support and care closer to home or in their community (such as local cafes, youth centres and shopping centres).

The Liberal Democrats have made improving mental health a priority, both in Government, but also in our Manifesto for the next parliament. This announcement is just the latest in a series of improvements to mental health services that we have delivered over the last five years, including:

  • £7 million in new beds for children and young people, as well as more case managers to make sure they are cared for in a suitable environment
  • £150 million over the next five years to help young people deal with issues like self-harm and eating disorder
  • Introduction of a new waiting time standard, backed by £33 million, to make sure young people with psychosis get prompt treatments
  • £54 million investment into improving access to Psychological Therapies for children and young people

Commenting on the announcement, Nick said:

“There would be an outcry if a child with diabetes was left to cope without support or treatment. But that’s exactly what’s been happening with young people’s mental health services

“I have heard, time and again, harrowing stories from young people and their families about how they suffered and their condition deteriorated waiting to get the right treatment for serious mental health problems.

“That’s why I am determined to start a seismic shift to revolutionise children’s mental healthcare and end this unacceptable injustice.

“By introducing waiting time standards and committing to talking therapies for children in every region, we are helping to build a fairer society where young people can get the right treatment and support they deserve to live a better life.”

Increasing the National Minimum Wage for apprentices by 20 per cent

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that the National Minimum Wage for apprentices will increase by 20 per cent going up by 57p an hour, from £2.73 to £3.30 this October.

This is the largest ever increase in the National Minimum Wage for apprentices.

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Nick has also announced that the adult National Minimum Wage will increase by three per cent to a new rate of £6.70 this October.

This is the largest real-terms increase in the National Minimum Wage since 2008 and is set to benefit more than 1.4m of Britain’s lowest paid workers.

The increase in the apprentice National Minimum Wage will halve the gap with the rate for 16 to 17 year olds, which will increase by two per cent, from £3.79 to £3.87 per hour.

There will also be a three per cent increase in the rate for 18 to 20 year olds from £5.13 to £5.30 an hour.

Nick said, “This is just one of the many ways in which we’ve created a fairer society whilst building a stronger economy.

“If you work hard, this government is behind you all the way. Whether you’re on low pay or starting your dream career through an apprenticeship, you will get more support to help you go further and faster.”

Nick Clegg’s message for National Apprenticeship Week

To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2015, Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is urging young people and businesses alike to draw on the many benefits of apprenticeships.

National Apprenticeship Week runs from 9-13 March and celebrates the positive impact that apprenticeships have on individuals and businesses.

Liberal Democrats in government have created more than 2 million apprenticeships, helping people of all ages develop new skills and helping British businesses to grow.

In his message, Nick highlights research showing that a fifth of all apprentices progress to higher education and that gaining a higher-level apprenticeship can boost lifetime earnings by £150,000.

Nick adds: “Whatever your professional interests, there’s a high-quality apprenticeship available to help you develop the skills that you need. And, whatever your sector, there’s a hard-working, dedicated apprentice out there ready to help your organisation thrive.”

Euro-MP wins another fish fight

Chris Davies MEP

Chris Davies MEP

Our local Euro-MP Chris Davies won support from MEPs for beleaguered fish stocks in a marathon voting session today in Strasbourg.  MEPs from France and Spain attempted to put aside large amounts of taxpayer money for fleet renewal – effectively giving fishermen cash for better boats that could catch more fish.

Chris, who founded the cross party Fish for the Future group of MEPs, led the fight to prevent more subsidy cash being wasted on measures that would encourage overfishing and the further decline of fish stocks.

The European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF) will provide €6 billion towards the fishing industry between 2014 and 2020.  MEPs approved payment of subsidies to help fishermen adjust to change but not to catch more fish.

Chris welcomed the decision as proof that the EU was serious about improving its fisheries policy, saying “We still have too many boats chasing too few fish, so to use public money to pay for building new boats would only make the problem worse. Grants of this kind were scrapped a decade ago, when 90% of the money was going to France, Spain and Portugal.  To have reinstated them would have been a massive step backwards.”

“Fishermen only have a future if we can help fish stocks to recover.  That is why Lib Dem MEPs supported investment based on sound science rather than subsidies for the few.”

The Parliament supported the use of funds to help fishermen buy more selective gear, to improve port facilities, and to obtain more scientific data about the state of fish stocks.

Victory for e-cig campaigners

Local Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies today won a major victory for users of e-cigs when the European Parliament backed his call for e-cigs to be available for sale on the same basis as tobacco.  MEPs rejected plans for them to be treated as medicines, increasing their cost and reducing their availability in many countries.

Chris won support for his demand that e-cigs meet product safety standards and for restrictions on their advertising and marketing, but he insisted they had a major role to play in reducing tobacco-related deaths.

He said: “E-cigs can be a game changer in the fight against smoking. Hundreds of former smokers have written to tell me that they have helped them give up cigarettes when nothing else worked.

“They are successful because they are not medicines but products that smokers enjoy using as an alternative to cigarettes.

“Every year 700,000 people in Europe die of smoking-related disease and we should do nothing that makes e-cigs harder to obtain than tobacco cigarettes.”

The European Parliament decision on e-cigs was opposed by Labour MEPs but supported by Liberal Democrat, Conservative and UKIP members.  It puts the Parliament in conflict with the governments of Britain and a majority of EU countries.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote to all British MEPs last week urging them to back medicinal regulation for e-cigs.

Attempts must now be made to find a compromise between the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers.

Chris Davies called for ministers to think afresh about their attitude: “E-cigs are a new product so it’s not surprising that many politicians have still not realised how big a role they could play in reducing the use of tobacco.”

Davies welcomes launch of million job campaign

Chris Davies MEP

Chris Davies MEP

Tameside Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has welcomed the Liberal Democrat Million Jobs Campaign, which was launched by Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg today. More than one million private sector jobs have been created since the Coalition Government came to power. Liberal Democrats now want to create a million more.

This will build on what Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government have already achieved. Business Secretary, Vince Cable has overseen a record rise in apprenticeships, including over 207,830 in the North West. To support jobs in manufacturing, £5.5bn extra has been invested into science, high-tech manufacturing and renewable energy and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander has introduced £2,000 cash back on National Insurance contributions for employers who take on more staff.

The Liberal Democrats are aiming to create more jobs outside London and have invested £2.6 billion in a Regional growth fund that is already benefiting northern England.

Commenting, Chris said: “The Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy in a fairer society, enabling everyone to get on in life.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government have helped businesses create more than one million private sector jobs, and now we’re working to help them create a million more. I am also working to bring more European investment to the area, to invest in new skills and give new businesses the premises and capital they need to get going.

“I look forward to me and my fellow Liberal Democrats working with local businesses, community groups and schools and colleges to turn this ambition into reality in Tameside.”

Potential bee killer banned by EU

A chemical implicated in the recent rapid decline of bee numbers has been banned by the EU despite the objections of the UK government.

Local Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has been campaigning for neonicotinoids to be banned since evidence first started being reported that the controversial pesticide could be causing bee colonies to die.

15 EU governments today voted in favour of a ban – not enough to impose one but enough to throw the decision to the EU Commission which is likely to announce a two year ban while more research is carried out.

The UK government voted against – and Davies slammed Ministers for bowing to pressure from big business.

Chris said, “There is enough evidence that neonicotinoids could be causing the catastrophic decline in bee numbers to warrant at least a temporary suspension in their use.

“Bees and other wild pollinators are worth over £100 million per year to the UK agricultural sector and we can’t keep taking risks with crop production like this.”

Income tax: promise delivered

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Delivered:
Income tax cut for 80,000 workers across Tameside borough

From the front page of our manifesto – to your pocket!

8,800 people in Tameside borough have been taken completely out of paying income tax through the increases in the tax threshold.

80,000 people in the borough have had a tax cut.