Gorllewin Caerfyrddin a De Sir Benfro

Ian Swales MP for Redcar is continuing his campaign on behalf of ME sufferers by hosting a drop-in event for MPs and Peers today in Parliament. The event, in conjunction with the charity Action for ME, will give Parliamentarians the chance to learn more about the condition and to meet some people affected by the disease.

Commenting, Stephen Williams said:

"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."

Planned changes to disability benefits will go ahead, the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has said, insisting that reform is needed. It has emerged half a million people are to lose the Disability Living Allowance over the next four years. But Mr Duncan Smith told the Daily Telegraph the number of people claiming it had risen by 30% in recent years, with many people "allowed to fester". Labour said he was approaching reform with "contempt and carelessness".

Redcar and Cleveland Labour Run Council have announced that they are considering charging all disabled blue badge holders to park in all council run off street car parks. Of those 25 car parks, there are 79 bays that are specifically marked for disabled badge holders only. All residents who hold blue badges were notified of this possible change by letter today (14^th May 2012).

Parents are to be given more financial control over support for children with special educational needs, in a major shake-up of the system in England. The government says it wants to push ahead with proposals announced last year that parents should have a "personal budget" for their children. The changes could also see fewer children in the special needs category.

Long lasting reforms

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.

Main Lib Dem initiatives include:

Welcome to my first article on this website - my aim is to look events from the point of view of disability issues

I was asked to come on here and help edit the site at the spring conference in gateshead, however to be honest since recoving from the rush of conference I was fully engage in the local election and have only just recovered from both the effort and very disapointing results. The saddiest thing about this is that in our town we had record low turnouts (16% in some cases). I know a some of this may have been to do with supporters of the coalision parties staying at home but there is a big problem with engaging people in the voting process.

Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, has called on the Welsh Labour Government to take immediate action to tackle huge NHS physiotherapy waiting lists.

Statistics released today reveal that the number of people waiting over 14 weeks for physiotherapy care increased to 2,755.

The maximum wait for access to specified diagnostic tests is 8 weeks and for specified services is 14 weeks. Today's statistics show that 8,420 patients have been waiting longer than 8 weeks for diagnostic services, while 3,516 patients have been waiting over 14 weeks for therapy services.

Cases of osteoarthritis in Britain look set to double to over 17 million by 2030, according to experts. A report by the charity Arthritis Care says the predicted rise is down to the UK's ageing population and growing obesity problem. Experts estimate that by 2030 over half of the UK population will be aged 50 or older and nearly the same proportion will be obese.

A draft bill on overhauling care and support for elderly and disabled people in England has been announced in the Queen's Speech. The bill will put "people in control of their care and give them greater choice," ministers say.

The contentious issue of how social care is paid for is still unclear. This week, charities and the Local Government Association called for radical change to prevent people being left "living in misery and fear". Discussions are currently taking place between the political parties on how social care should be reformed. A White Paper was expected before Easter, but is now due to be published later this month or in June.