Liberal Democrats welcome increasing support for changes to a fairer voting system. At a recent Warrington Council meeting, the Leader was asked the views of the local Labour Party on this subject.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Cllr Bob Barr, asked: It has recently been reported in the press that at least one hundred Labour parties in England and the Welsh Government support a policy of proportional representation. A third of Labour MPs and three quarters of Labour members are said to back this move. Would the Leader tell us if this has been considered in Warrington?

Liberal Democrats are calling on Warrington Borough Council to be more open and transparent about their commercial investments, in line with the findings of a Government-commissioned review on the transparency of local government reporting. Our Finance Spokesperson, Councillor Ian Marks says:

At the last Council meeting I asked the Labour administration about their policy on commercial investments. The Treasury Management report clearly states that HM Treasury will no longer allow local authorities to borrow money from the Public Works Loan Board to purchase commercial property if the aim is solely to generate an income stream. When I raised this at the Audit Committee I was told this wasn't a problem because we could borrow money more cheaply from elsewhere. This may be true, but goes against the spirit of Government thinking and must be questioned. I asked if this new ruling had affected any of our investment proposals.

There are still concerns and uncertainty about the Inland Border Facility at Appleton Thorn despite recent changes to the proposals. The facility will operate round the clock from 1^st January. At last week's Warrington Borough Council meeting, Lymm Parish Councillor Tim Martland asked a Public Question about the impact of the facility on surrounding roads and on noise and air pollution.

The potential impact of the Inland Border Facility on the Barleycastle Trading Estate at Appleton Thorn is ringing alarm bells with local Councillors.

Construction work is taking place almost round the clock to get the site ready for operation from 1^st January when the UK leaves the EU trading block.

Warrington Liberal Democrats welcome the all-party support for our motion on the Climate and Ecological Emergency passed at the Council meeting on 7^th December.

The motion calls on the Council to continue the good work on combating climate change, to do more to aid the recovery of nature and natural environments and to promote biodiversity. It also calls on the town's two MPs to support the cross-party Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill in Parliament.

Warrington Council has given unanimous support to our call for an increase of £20 a week in the allowance for unpaid carers.

The Labour group had put forward a Motion at the full Council Meeting asking Warrington's MPs to demand that the Government provide more realistic funding to avoid a 'catastrophe for social care'. Labour accepted an amendment put forward by the Liberal Democrat group asking for support for unpaid carers too.