At the County Council budget meeting on the 13^th February the Liberal Democrats will be calling on KCC to provide Kent's parish and town councils and community groups with the support needed to get electric vehicle (EV) charging points in their areas.

The Lib Dems will be asking for a ringfenced fund of £500,000 to be spread over the next two years to help fund the procurement and installation of publicly accessible charging points in car-parks owned by the parishes and local community groups.

The Prime Minister has announced £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London. This should result in well over £100 million being allocated to Kent. It is very welcome but much more will be needed.

Bus services outside London are in crisis, with less and less people taking the bus and consequently more and more people relying upon their cars. The vast majority of bus users are concessionary pass-holders - either young people going to school or college or 'senior citizens' who are eligible to free bus travel.

Ida Linfield presses for vital new pedestrian crossing near Canterbury school.

"I can think of nothing worse in the whole world than arranging for your child to walk safely to school with friends and then getting someone at the door saying he had been knocked down", said Ida Linfield, Lib Dem County Councillor in Canterbury.

At this Thursday's budget meeting at Kent CC Ida Linfield (Lib Dem county councillor in Canterbury) is proposing the allocation of £250,000 to fund a Befriending service to support elderly residents in Kent. The funds would be drawn from a special £3.5 million unallocated reserve which KCC are proposing for future initiatives.

Two thirds of Kent school children who are the main person looking after a sick or disabled parent may not be getting the support they need.

Lib Dem Councillor Trudy Dean will be proposing an addition of £250,000 to KCC's budget to train teachers to spot young carers, and then provide the children with the necessary support and advice they need to help them with this huge task.

Yesterday Folkestone and Hythe District Council announced they have bought the land and purchase options of their former developer partner Cozumel that forms much of the Otterpool Park site for around £25 million plus costs.

Although this represents a large profit for Cozumel since they bought the racecourse a few years ago, it removes a partner from the scheme that was likely to push for the development - especially on their land - to be more commercial than the Council. If they had remained as partners, it is likely over the long term they would have made MUCH more profit, and sought that the value of their land was maximised - that's what property developers do.

Mental health services for children and adolescents are at breaking point - and the government's plan to fix them isn't enough. We're pushing the Tories to do more.

By Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care

Week in, week out, either at my constituency surgery, in my inbox or just through conversations with friends and acquaintances, I hear yet another tragic story of a child or young person struggling with their mental health. They're having to battle to get any sort of help.

A regular meet-up on the first Wednesday of every morth for Liberal Democrat members, supporters and the Lib Dem curious in the Folkestone and Hythe area!

Simply come along for a social drink and a chat: no speeches, no leaflet delivery. It's a "buy your own" event (sorry!) but come along and say hello to our Councillors, campaigners, members and friends.