Lib Dem Group Leader Tim Prater once again led the push to change the system of governance at Folkestone and Hythe District Council at its AGM on Wednesday 4th May.

The Council currently has "Cabinet" structure, with all members of the Cabinet appointed by the Council Leader. Since a motion put by Tim in September 2019 the Council has looked at options for its future Governance.

New research from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, has shown huge disparities in cancer care across England revealing a crisis in Folkestone & Hythe.

The headlines from the research have been branded "horrific" by Folkestone & Hythe's Liberal Democrats, they show:

A staggering 6.2 million people waited over eight days for a GP appointment in February, Liberal Democrat research has revealed. This is up 9% from the previous month, when 5.7 million waited for eight days or more to see their GP.

The analysis of the latest NHS figures shows that one in four (24.4%) people waited over eight days in February before being able to see their family doctor. Of these, 550,000 people (2%) were left waiting a month or more for a GP appointment.

Following on from our news about the Canadian First World War Archive Box donated to the Trust by Mr. Richard Steacie, we are pleased to invite you to view an exhibition of some of the artefacts and the medal collection of Colonel Charles A Smart, commanding officer at Shorncliffe Garrison from April 1917 to December 1918.

Keeping in touch and working for local residents ALL YEAR ROUND.

No - there is no election on (that we know about!) but the latest edition March 2022 of Sandgate and West Folkestone Focus is through people's letterboxes now.

Topics covered in this edition included the recent district budget, County Council bus funding cuts, Princes Parade, phone scams, new access ramps, graffiti clearance, hedges and new charging points!

England's water company bosses have awarded themselves almost £27 million in bonuses over the past two years despite pumping out raw sewage into waterways 1,000 times a day, the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

Analysis of Companies House records by the Liberal Democrats shows that executives at England's water and sewage companies were paid £48 million in 2020 and 2021, including £27.6 million in bonuses, benefits and incentives.

You'll have seen that the diggers have again hit the beach and started the regular (and very necessary!) beach management works. I asked Folkestone and Hythe District Council who lead the works on the timetable, and they say:

"Works started on the beach management on Monday 4th April and are expected to last for 8 weeks. We are aware that crosses the Easter holiday and are keeping a close eye on weather and visitor traffic. The contractors are aware we may need to limit operations and movement as need be.

I've written before about the £150 Energy Rebate, and how payments will be made to people in Folkestone and Hythe.

Paying tens of thousands of people by DD is not a thing the Council team has done before (business Covid grants for example were on a much smaller scale, as there are far less businesses than residents), so they are needing to build processes and test systems. They absolutely don't want to get this wrong!