Welcome to the Website of South Thanet Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced on Monday that there will be up to £10m additional support for Pupil Premium children who leave primary school without Level 4 literacy - the expected level.
In a keynote speech to teachers and school leaders, he said that the Education Endowment Foundation will be awarding the money to pilot projects to help disadvantaged pupils make the transition from primary to secondary school. The money will be targeted at struggling Year 7s from deprived homes.
"How can a child start secondary school unable to read with confidence?" declared Nick. "That is a basic building block of a good education and no child should begin the race so far behind the starting line. We need to do everything we can to help these children through this transition to get them up to speed.
"That is a responsibility the government takes extremely seriously. And I can confirm that the Education Endowment Foundation will shortly be inviting groups of local schools, in the areas that suffer most with this problem, to bid for extra funds for struggling Year 7s from deprived homes to help them get their reading and writing up to scratch. Extra 'catch up cash', if you like.
"We envisage that schools will want to use it for small catch up classes, or one-to-one tuition, or vouchers for literacy tuition that parents can spend. We will run a proper evaluation, sharing what works with all schools not just those areas taking part in these pilots. It's likely this kind of targeted support is the best way to crack this problem - next year we'll know.
"Of course, we hope as few pupils as possible need it, thanks to the Pupil Premium. And I know primary and secondary schools up and down the country are determined to make this work.
"Some are using the money for breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. Some are funding counselling services, so troubled kids are in the right place, emotionally, to learn. Some are using it for educational visits to places like museums: the sort of experiences middle class children take for granted but poorer child might rarely enjoy."
Nick also announced that he wants to "strike a deal between the Coalition government and our schools and teachers. Teachers who help these children unlock the doors that otherwise hold them back ... they are the key to an open and fair society ... the key to the opportunity Britain I am determined we build."
The best teachers will be offered incentives to work in schools that have large numbers of disadvantaged pupils. The government will ask the School Teachers Review Body to look at giving other schools the same flexibility Academies currently have to use pay to hold on to the best teachers.
Also, from next year, there will be Pupil Premium Awards for the 50 schools that do the best to boost the performance of their poorest pupils and narrow the gap - with cash prizes of up to £10,000 for the best of the best.
"This is a very popular idea which would give the public something back for bailing out the banks.
"I welcome the Treasury Select Committee's review into what to do with the Government's holding in RBS and Lloyds and hope that it furthers the case for giving the public their share."
"The European Parliament has voted through an ambitious and innovative text today. On the key concern of maximum versus minimum harmonisation there is sufficient flexibility within an EU framework. This will allow countries with a very large debt to GDP ratio to take the necessary action to protect themselves.
Key Liberal Democrat initiatives were announced in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday including banking reform, a single tier pension, energy reform, strengthening shareholder power and House of Lords reform.
The Coalition government's next term will focus on helping families, supporting growth and jobs, and delivering long-standing reform to our banking sector. Long lasting reforms are proposed to put the UK on a stable footing and offer help and support to families, small businesses and communities, protect the environment, as well as reaffirming the commitment to helping the poorest nations.
The key themes from the 2012 Queen's Speech are economic growth, justice and constitutional reform.
These reforms will help build a sustainable future for our country. The Coalition Government's plans will offer help and support to families, small businesses and communities, protect the environment, as well as reaffirming our commitment to helping the poorest nations.
In 2010, Liberal Democrats joined the Coalition Government to act in the long-term national interest. Our most urgent task was to tackle the record deficit left to us by Labour and we're continuing this work today.
We have already made some tough choices, and we will continue to make sure we keep spending down so, unlike the rest of Europe, families can benefit from low interest rates and Britain is protected from the global debt storm.
Making a call or sending a text while on holiday or business in a European Union (EU) country is set to become cheaper this summer.
EPs are expected to vote on Thursday (May 10) for a cut in the price companies can bill customers for calls and texts, while also rubberstamping a maximum fee for data usage.
Last year large multinational companies operating in the developing world avoided paying taxes of approximately $165 billion to host governments.
Sharon Bowles MEP, who represents South East England in the European Parliament, has launched a new campaign - 'Own, Up, Pay Up!' - to shed light on the issue and to prevent future financial malpractice among EU multinationals.
