Liberal Democrats on Kent County Council

Euro MP Sharon Bowles, who chairs the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has renewed calls for better corporate transparency in the developing world following revelations that approximately £690 million paid to the Nigerian government by subsidiaries of Shell and ENI ended up in the hands of former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer, Dan Etete.

Families still battling to keep down the cost of energy bills despite a drop in the number of homes in fuel poverty, Catherine Bearder MEP has said.

The number of households in fuel poverty fell from 5.5m households in 2009 to 4.75m in 2010, according to the 2012 Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics.

A pledge from all EU member states to enforce a ban on battery hens has been welcomed by South East MEP Catherine Bearder.

Cramped cages were supposed to be banned from January, but the European Commission looked set to let some member states off the hook.

And UK egg producers who had spent around £400m on larger bird cages were angered some EU countries were set to flout the ban.

Shepway Liberal Democrats have launched a petition to make it easier to insist Shepway Council end consideration of a hign-level nuclear waste storage facility on Romney Marsh.

All signatures on the petition on http://shep.lib.dm/nonucleardump will be handed into Shepway Council before the end of their consultation. The petition makes it easier to encourage others to sign against the new dump as well by offering Facebook, Twitter and email sharing.

The announcement by Shepway District Council that they are consulting on a long term high level nuclear waste storage facility on Romney Marsh has been slammed by local Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats condemnation is shared by local MP Damian Collins and Kent County Council Leader Paul Carter. In an article in Kent Online, Paul Carter describes the idea as 'irresponsible, outrageous and madness'.

The loss of biodiversity is happening right under our noses… and too many people choose not to listen, said Catherine Bearder MEP.

It came as Catherine joined the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals, which is the hub for animal welfare in the European Parliament.

The group has successfully lobbied for an EU ban on the import of seal products and spearheaded a call to outlaw cloning of animals in the food chain.

Question by Mrs Dean To The Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement

In view of the transfer to KCC employment of former Health Service employees whose pension schemes would not include investments in tobacco; will the Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement reconsider KCC's previous stance on the withdrawal of Superannuation Fund investment in tobacco firms?

Question by Mr T Prater to the Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement

In view of the damming KPMG report of governance of the Laser scheme and the lack of any committee scrutiny of the setting up of Kent Cultural Trading, will the Cabinet Member for Finance agree to a review of the Governance of all KCC Trading Companies & Business activities to ensure they all represent best value for Kent's residents?

Question by Mr G Koowaree to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste

Will the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste inform this Council of the criteria for resurfacing deteriorated concrete roads, and provide me with copies of the analysis data reports for:

1. Bond Road, Ashford &
2. Osborne Road, Ashford

Question by Mr D S Daley to the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Public Health

A recent Kent County Council (KCC) report states that vulnerable elderly people and disabled adults may have to stay home for longer instead of being moved into residential care. KCC will depend on voluntary and private sector providers, our 'Partners in the Community', to provide home based care for these vulnerable people whilst they await to move into residential care.