After years of delay and endless broken promises, it appears the 2017/18 Council Accounts are now close to being signed off by the External Auditor, Grant Thornton.

There must be some confidence by both the Council and the Auditors this will happen, because we have a specially organised extra meeting of the Audit & Corporate Governance Committee on 9 December to discuss this topic.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Ian Marks is calling on the Council to be clearer about what cannot be recycled in a blue bin. Stickers placed on 'contaminated' bins say what can be recycled but are not explicit about what is forbidden.

From talking to the person who emptied my blue bin yesterday, I understand that they are under strict instructions to refuse to empty contaminated bins. They open the top and if they see material like crisp packets and polythene bags, they slap a sticker on the bin. I have had complaints from residents asking why their bins have not been emptied. I have been walking round looking inside bins with stickers and I can see what the problem is. I understand why this policy is being put into effect because anything that improves the Council's recycling rate is welcome.

Liberal Democrats have welcomed the all-party support for their Council motion calling on the Government to help protect our Green Belt.

This follows a suggestion by the Prime Minister in his speech to the Conservative Party conference that housebuilding should no longer require Green Belt to be used.

The Liberal Democrats have always opposed Warrington Borough Council's investment in Together Energy but did not support the Tory motion for a new detailed report on the involvement in the company.

At a meeting of the Council on 1st November, the Tories failed in their bid to make public financial information on the troubled energy company.

Appleton Parish Council has voted to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill after a lively debate.

The motion to support the Bill was put forward by Liberal Democrat Councillor Mark Browne. It requires the Council to:

• Declare a climate and ecological emergency
• Support the national CEE Bill going through Parliament
• Write a letter to the MP urging him to sign up to the Bill
• Contact the CEE Alliance, the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, expressing its support

Warrington Liberal Democrats are asking the Borough Council to suspend the Local Plan Consultation, due to start this week, because of anticipated changes in the Government's planning policy.

Press comments from The Economist newspaper, published on the 2^nd of October, claim that the Conservative Government is on the brink of major planning concessions that will stop obliging Local Authorities to release greenbelt land to meet the government's housing and employment targets. Such changes would affect Warrington's current Draft Local Plan which is due to go out to public consultation this week.