Broadland Liberal Democrats

At a time when millions of small businesses are struggling to survive, to offer them just £5 billion would be an insult.

We need to see a budget with a bold and ambitious compensation package

From beauticians to builders, florists to café owners - the small businesses in our communities are on the brink and the Chancellor must do more.

For more up to date information from the Lib Dem Lords, follow us on twitter: @LibDemLords

Here's what our peers got up to this week.

Monday 22nd February

Each day in the Lords begins with four oral questions to the Government on different topics. Dee Doocey took the Government to task for often taking many weeks, or even months, to answer Written Questions submitted by peers. They are a critical tool for parliamentarians, she said, and government departments are working in a way that is detrimental for others trying to hold ministers to account.

Welcome to the Weekly Whip. Your one-stop shop for Lib Dem Parliamentary updates, covering the week that was and the week to come.

For up to date information from the Lib Dem Whips Office, follow us on Twitter: @LibDemWhips

Weekly Whip w/c 22nd February

Monday 22nd February

All eyes were on the Prime Minister on Monday as he delivered an address to Parliament, setting out a roadmap of rolling back restrictions as the pandemic heads into a new phase.

For years, the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning to scrap the archaic Vagrancy Act, which makes it illegal to sleep rough.

And yesterday, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick conceded that we were right, and that it's time to get rid of this cruel and outdated law.

Delighted to hear Robert Jenrick thinks the outdated, cruel Vagrancy Act should go.

Together with @tracey_crouch @CarolineLucas @ToniaAntoniazzi @LSRPlaid @Jamie4North @timfarron I've introduced a Bill that would repeal it in a heartbeat.

Time to pick it up and #ScraptheAct. pic.twitter.com/zeNE9yzVsE

- Layla Moran 🔶 (@LaylaMoran) February 25, 2021

Norfolk Liberal Democrats have summarised the proposals in Norfolk County Council's budget as "unimaginative".

Steff Aquarone, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, said "Norfolk's recovery from the pandemic cannot be business as usual with the same tired out old ideas. We need a bold, new vision for Norfolk. The Conservatives have simply relied on government handouts whilst continually asking people to pay more for less.

25 years ago our former leader Paddy Ashdown laid out the stakes for Britain's position in the world:

Britain's role as the bulwark against tyranny in two wars this century was not a product of isolationism. It was the natural response of a nation used to engaging in the world and certain about its role as a European power.

Millions of people across the country have made untold sacrifices in the past year.

Boris Johnson must not squander the months of sacrifice by millions of people and businesses across the country

People have been isolated from their families, hundreds of thousands of businesses have been shuttered and our precious freedoms have been curtailed.

Here is the speech given by Steff Aquarone, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Norfolk County Council on the council's budget and on initial proposals to show what the Liberal Democrats would do to speed up Norfolk's recovery from the Covid pandemic.

"I'd like to start by acknowledging what previous speakers have said… that for all of us here, this past year has been like no other. And to thank the council officers who have worked tirelessly and adaptively to do what they can, with the resources they've been given.

A one day trial to allow people who carried out home improvements during the lockdown to dispose of the waste for free at the County's Household Waste Recycling sites is being proposed.

The trial would be available once people are allowed to travel safely again, across all the County's recycling centres allowing disposal of up to three items free of charge for a fixed period.

Norwich's most polluted street could be in for a clean up thanks to innovative air filtering technology.

CityTrees, which are made by green technology firm Green City Solutions, are the world's first biotech pollution filter and use living plants and mosses to filter pollutants from the air, creating microenvironments of cleaner air that benefit residents and passers-by.